School Camp
by fire-and-ice89
Summary: NEW SUMMARY! When Hermione and Draco are put in the same group at camp, they begin a prank war. But unbeknownst to them, a real war is brewing, and they are about to become closely involved. On the last night of camp, everything comes undone. DMHG
1. A Shocking Announcement

**School Camp – _fire-and-ice89_**

**Summary**: No Hogwarts student has ever been on camp…until now. Hermione is struggling to co-operate with a certain person in her activity group, and Harry is despairing over a long-term crush. Tension is running high, but along the way, several events change everything.

**A/N**: Okay everyone, my first chapter of my first fic. I hope you like it.

**Disclaimer**: Do I really have to put this in? We all know who owns Harry Potter and co, and it's not me.

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**Chapter One – A Shocking Announcement**

Ron tapped his knuckles impatiently against the table.

"I wonder what this meeting is for?" he said, for what seemed like the hundredth time. Hermione slapped his hand away from the table.

"Ron, none of us will know until Dumbledore arrives," she said with exasperation.

She glanced around the room at all the seventh years. Some were looking impatient, like Ron, some merely curious, and some downright bored (mainly Malfoy and gang).

She couldn't believe it was seventh year already. Where had the time gone to? It seemed like only yesterday that she had been a nervous first year, stepping up to the stool to put the sorting hat on her head.

Now she sat in that same room, surrounded by those same people, yet everything was so different. Relationships had changed, people had grown older, smarter, wiser, more mature…

Hermione paused on that last thought, watching Malfoy trip Parvati as she passed the Slytherin table. Most people had grown more mature, she amended.

At that moment, the doors to the Great Hall opened, and Dumbledore entered. Hermione sat up straighter in her seat, trying to read the expression on his face. As usual, he was calm and unreadable.

He moved serenely to the front of the hall, and then turned to address the group of seventh years.

"You may all be wondering why you're here." He began, smiling down at the group. "Don't be apprehensive, I have no bad news to give you. Well, it shouldn't be bad news to most of you, anyway."

Soft murmurs broke out. Hermione frowned and made a face at Harry across the table, who looked equally bewildered. Dumbledore was being very cryptic.

Dumbledore waited patiently for the whispers to die down. When the room was silent again, he cleared his throat.

"As you know, Voldemort has attempted several attacks on both Hogwarts and on specific students in the past few years." During this sentence his eyes rested momentarily on Ron, Hermione and Harry. "I believe, as everyone here already knows, that at a time like this, school unity is very important. We must support each other, not bicker between ourselves."

Hermione heard Malfoy give a soft snicker. She turned around to glare at him. Dumbledore had told the students so many times to co-operate, but it was much easier said than done. How was she supposed to get along with Malfoy?

If Dumbledore heard Malfoy, which Hermione was sure he had, he gave no sign, and simply continued with his speech. It was almost although he had read her mind.

"Now, to many of you, I think I'm beginning to sound like a broken record," Dumbledore said. Several of the muggle born students laughed softly at his joke. Hermione laughed also, and reveled in the confusion on Malfoy's face.

"I realize how hard it is to put aside your differences. It's a lot to ask of you. After much thought, I have decided that perhaps it would be easier outside of a school situation."

He paused, letting the words sink in. Harry and Ron frowned, still not understanding what he was implying, but Hermione's eyes widened. She leaned over the table and hissed at Harry; "He's going to send us on – "

"Camp."

There was a stunned silence, then chaos ensued. Excited conversations erupted at every table. Hermione grinned with delight at Harry and Ron, then turned to laugh at the horror filled expression on Malfoy's face.

Eventually everyone calmed down, and turned to Dumbledore for more information. All across the room, hands were raised, and unspoken questions hung heavy in the air.

Dumbledore raised his hands. "Now, I'm sure you all have lots of questions, which I will happily answer in a moment. Just let me finish, and hopefully I'll answer some of your questions along the way.

"Now, this camp will take place in the second week of school. That's right", he said, over the murmurs, "next week. We have arranged a trip to Hogsmeade this weekend just for the seventh years, so you can buy anything extra you will need on camp. I'm sure that will give you sufficient time to pack.

"On Monday morning, everyone will gather in here with their luggage, and will be transported via portkey to the campsite. You will then gather in your camp groups for the first activity."

At his last words, many more hands were raised. Dumbledore sensed the question.

"I will be selecting your camp groups," he said, and groans echoed around the hall. "The whole purpose of this camp is unity, and interacting with different people, and that will not happen within your friendship groups."

Ron slumped on the table and groaned aloud. "What's the bet he puts us with Malfoy?" Harry gave Hermione a despairing look. It was inevitable.

Dumbledore was still speaking. "These groups are only for during the day, while completing the activites. You will have plenty of time to socialize with your friends in the evenings."

"That's not too bad," whispered Hermione. "At least they're not separating us completely."

"During the day, in your groups," Dumbledore continued, "you will be participating in activities such as a mountain hike, river crossing, high ropes, solo campout and orienteering. Many of these activities will require group co-operation. I expect many new friendships formed upon your return."

Hermione had pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill and was busily taking notes. Harry rolled his eyes at Ron across the table.

Dumbledore seemed to have finished talking, and several impatient students started calling out their questions.

"What do we have to pack?"

"When will we find out our camp groups?"

"Where are we going?"

Dumbledore raised his wand, and with a snap, several sheets of paper appeared in front of every student.

"Among those, you will find an equipment list, an itinerary, and your camp groups. Hopefully that will answer most of your questions."

The last part of his sentence was lost among the desperate shuffling of papers, as everyone tried to find out their camp groups.

"I'm in group A," stated Ron, peering over Hermione's shoulder. "You're in group B. Harry, where did they put you?"

"Group C," Harry said glumly. "None of us are together."

Hermione scanned her eyes down her list, and suddenly her breath caught in her throat. Harry looked at her, concerned.

"What's wrong, Hermione?" He asked, but she shook her head and looked back up at Dumbledore.

"One last thing," Dumbledore said, looking stern. "The camp is strictly non magic. If anyone is found with a magical item on them, the item will be confiscated and they will be punished appropriately."

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"Harry!" Hermione called out, rushing towards him waving her list. "Where are you supposed to find hiking boots? I've looked all over Hogsmeade and they've all been taken!"

Harry and Ron jumped guiltily when they heard her voice, and hid their fizzing whizzbees and canary creams behind their backs.

"Er…" Harry stuttered, then had a brainwave. "Hermione, they said that we can't use magic on camp, but they didn't say anything about using magic before camp, did they?"

Hermione eyed him suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

"Well," he said, "do you have an old pair of runners?" Hermione nodded slowly, catching on.

"I can transfigure them!" She cried out triumphantly. "Harry, you're a genius." She threw her arms around him gratefully. Harry turned bright red, glaring at Ron who was laughing over Hermione's shoulder.

"Have you boys got everything, then?" Hermione asked, looking at her own list with its neat rows of ticks.

"Er, most of it. I think." Harry looked sideways at Ron. The two of them had spent the majority of their time in Honeydukes, stocking up on lollies. After all, it was camp.

"Oh, that's great. So have I. So, should we go back to Hogwarts and start packing?" Hermione was already beginning to head in the direction of the castle.

"Um, we might just stay around for a while longer, you know, just hang out here." Ron said quickly, and Harry nodded vehemently.

Hermione faced them with her hands on her hips. "You'd better be quick. You might run out of time to pack."

"Oh, no, we'll be fine." Harry said, and before Hermione could lecture them on organization, the two turned and walked away.

Hermione watched them go, shaking her head. "Those two," she muttered under her breath, but smiled anyway.

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The castle grounds were sunny and inviting. Rather than head straight up to her dorm and pack, Hermione decided to take a short stroll around the lake.

As she walked, she took out the sheets of paper Dumbledore had given them, and looked them over one last time.

Later on, when she had told Harry and Ron that Malfoy was in her camp group, they had urged her to try and change.

"He'll make the camp hell for you, Hermione", Ron had said. "He'd make it his goal."

"Why don't you go and talk to Dumbledore?" Harry had said. "I'm sure he'd understand.

But Hermione stubbornly stuck by her decision. "Dumbledore never does anything without a reason. I'll go on camp with Malfoy, and I'll enjoy myself. Besides, he's not the only one in my group."

She ran her eyes down the list once more. If it weren't for Malfoy, it would be a good group. There was Dean, Parvati, Justin, George, Fiona…

"Looking forward to camp, mudblood?"

Hermione almost jumped out of her skin. "Malfoy," she hissed. She had been so lost in her thoughts, she hadn't even noticed that he was following her.

"The one and only", he smirked, strolling past her to lean against a nearby tree. Hermione stood stock still, glaring at him.

"So," he continued, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I hear we're to be in the same group. Well, let me tell you this." He leaned forward and whispered, almost like he was telling her a secret.

"I don't associate with mudbloods. It's very unfortunate for you that Dumbledore came up with this fool plan. If I were you, I'd watch your back."

"You're all big words and empty threats, Malfoy," Hermione retaliated quietly, but her blood had run cold.

Satisfied that he had frightened her, Malfoy pushed past her and walked towards the castle.

"See you bright and early on Monday, mudblood," he called back over his shoulder, as casually as if he had been calling out a friendly goodbye.

Hermione remained by the lake until Harry and Ron returned from Hogsmeade.

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Harry and Ron walked through the gates of Hogwarts, still examining their goodies.

"Maybe camp won't be so bad," Ron said through a mouthful of chocolate frogs. "I mean, our groups are okay."

Harry thought about his group. There were some nice people in his group, just no close friends. But there was Allie.

He couldn't believe he'd never noticed Allie before last year. She was a Ravenclaw, and even though he'd never had many classes with her, he knew she was smart. She wasn't obsessive about her schoolwork like Hermione, though.

She was beautiful. The first time Harry noticed just how beautiful she was, it was a Monday morning of sixth year. He was sitting with Ron in Divination, when Allie walked into the room with Lavender. The light coming through the windows leapt across her smooth brown hair, and her brown eyes seemed to sparkle with mischief.

That day, Professor Trelawney predicted he would die a gory and painful death at the hands of a hippogriff, and for the first time, he didn't care. He was watching Allie's eyes sparkle with hidden mirth, and knew that she found Professor Trelawney as ridiculous as he did.

From then on, Harry had a crush on Allie Reed.

And now he was going to camp with her.

Hermione knew about Allie. She had suspected that Harry had a crush when he started acting strangely, and after watching him closely had discovered the source of his strange behavior. She had talked to Harry about it, and he had confessed everything.

Ron, of course, was oblivious to the whole thing.

"I suppose my group's pretty good, actually," he amended, swallowing his mouthful. "Neville's alright, and so is Seamus and Ben. Most of the activities sound alright. The solo campout sounds kind of scary, though."

Harry smiled weakly. "Makes me wish I'd never watched The Blair Witch Project."

Ron frowned, confused. "What?"

"Never mind." Harry said, then suddenly shaded his eyes against the sun. "Hey, isn't that Hermione down by the lake?"

"Hey, it is." Ron said, stuffing his lollies back in their bag. "Hermione!"

The two of them started heading down towards the lake, where she sat on the edge. Her knees were pulled up to her chest, and she was hunched over them.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Harry asked when they reached her. She looked up at them dazedly.

"Oh. I didn't realize how much time had passed. I guess I should really start packing now." She pulled herself off the ground and dusted off her jeans.

"Hermione, are you sure you're okay?" Harry asked again, worriedly.

"Yes, I'm fine, just a little tired." Hermione said, brushing away his concern. Harry frowned, but stayed silent. He thought there was something wrong, but Hermione obviously wasn't going to talk right now.

Ron rolled his eyes at Harry and shrugged his shoulders.

"Wanna a chocolate frog, 'Mione?" he asked, extending his bag of lollies towards her.

Hermione smiled indulgently but shook her head.

"We should all be eating healthily, guys." She said. "Who knows what kind of food we'll get on camp?"

Ron shrugged. "That's exactly why we plan to make the most of good, wholesome junk food before we leave."

"You've got the wrong attitude" her reply came floating back.

"What the hell's wrong with her today?" Ron asked Harry. "She must be PMSing or something."

"Remember, Ron, you're not the one with Malfoy in your group." Harry said gently. "Hermione's about to face a week of hell, and she knows it."

"Bloody hell." Ron said. "Everyone's making such a big deal over all this. It's only for a week. It's only camp."

"Yeah" Harry said softly, an image of Allie flashing across his mind. He had one week to prove himself to her. Only a week.

"Only camp."

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**A/N**: So there it is. Please tell me what you think. This chapter was mainly for 'setting the scene'. I promise the rest of the story will be more exciting.

**Next Chapter**: They arrive at camp, and Hermione is in for a nasty shock.


	2. The Morning Before

**School Camp – _fire-and-ice89_**

**A/N**: Second chapter's up!

There's a few things I need to clarify: yes, this will turn out to be DMHG. I forgot to put that in the summary, but it's there now.

When I was writing this chapter it turned out much longer than I thought it would, so I decided to split it into two chapters instead. So, unfortunately, my teaser in the last chapter was wrong. They _don't_ arrive at camp. So what's in this chapter then, you might ask? Read to find out!

Now, replies to reviews:

**Kristina**: I'm very sorry that you don't like the way I've portrayed Ron, but I'm afraid that's the way I see him. As you can maybe tell, Ron _isn't_ one of my favorite characters. I think he's immature, and I really hope that he and Hermione don't get together, despite that fact I think it's inevitable, since JK Rowling has dropped several hints on her website and there's been numerous references to the pair in the books and movies. The beginning to this chapter was already written when I got your review, so Ron might not be to your liking yet, but I promise I am taking your advice, and I will try to develop his character later on. Just for you!

**Kawaiitie**: Please don't be jealous! Your writing is really good, as I've already told you.

**dmhg**:Thank you for adding me! I hope the 'shock' that Hermione gets doesn't disappoint you. If it does…never fear, there's plenty more shocks to be had in this story!

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**Last Time**

"_Bloody hell." Ron said. "Everyone's making such a big deal over all this. It's only for a week. It's only camp."_

"_Yeah" Harry said softly, an image of Allie flashing across his mind. He had one week to prove himself to her. Only a week._

"_Only camp."_

**Chapter Two – The Morning Before**

Come Monday morning, the Great Hall was full of seventh years, duffel bags, and chatter.

Hermione dragged her bag through the doors, followed by Harry and Ron. The three of them pulled their bags over to a corner and sat down.

"So…tired." Ron moaned. He leaned back against his bag and closed his eyes.

"Honestly, Ron." Hermione said. "At camp you'll probably have to get up earlier than 6.30."

Ron was silent.

Harry smiled tiredly at Hermione. "I think he's gone back to sleep."

A small, snuffled snore came from Ron's direction, and Hermione giggled. "I think you're right."

"Attention, please!"

Professor McGonagall was entering through the double doors. Behind her was Professor Trelawney, Professor Dumbledore, and finally, Professor Snape.

Harry and Hermione stared with open mouths.

"Snape…" Hermione whispered incredulously. "Snape is coming on camp?"

Ron opened a reluctant eye. "You're kidding."

"Apparently not," Harry said, stunned.

The Professors walked to the front of the hall and took a seat. All students were eyeing them with interest. Professor McGonagall swept her eyes over the tired, bedraggled group, and smiled to herself.

"Professor Snape, Professor Trelawney, and myself will be accompanying you on camp," she announced to the surprised group.

"What about Professor Dumbledore?" One student called out, almost involuntarily. McGonagall looked to him sharply, but Dumbledore intervened.

"Unfortunately, I have urgent business to attend to here at Hogwarts, and will be unable to accompany you, much to my disappointment," Dumbledore said smoothly. "However, I will be very interested to hear your stories when you return."

For once, the students were silent. A sole hand was raised, somewhere near the middle of the room.

"Yes, Lavender?" Professor McGonagall asked, looking like she was bracing herself for a very stupid and Lavender-like question.

"Um…so, are you three, like, supervising our day groups?" Lavender asked. "And if you are, then who is supervising which one?"

Professor McGonagall looked mildly surprised at the authenticity of her question.

"Yes, we will each be supervising a group."

Hermione stiffened. "Please not Snape. Please not Snape." She muttered, almost to herself. Malfoy and Snape in a group would just be too much.

"I will supervise Group C. Professor Trelawney will supervise Group A, and Professor Snape will do Group B."

Hermione felt her stomach drop like lead. Suddenly, she was finding it hard to be positive about camp.

Beside her, Harry was trying not to celebrate. He'd managed to avoid both Trelawney and Snape. Much as he felt bad for Hermione, he couldn't help but feel anticipation for camp.

Ron had Trelawney, but he didn't particularly care either way. He lay back and closed his eyes again.

Hermione looked over at her two friends. Ron didn't see her painful glance, but Harry did. He reached over and squeezed Hermione's arm sympathetically.

"Only for the day, remember, Hermione." He whispered.

Hermione nodded and swallowed, feeling a lump in her throat. Stupid emotions, she thought to herself. Don't be a baby.

She realized with a start that she'd missed Professor McGonagall's final words, and everyone was starting to stand and pick up their baggage.

"What did she say?" She asked Harry.

"We have to get in our groups," Harry said, standing and pulling up his bag.

With dread, Hermione lifted her heavy bag and walked over to Group B. Malfoy was already standing there. When she arrived, he looked over in her direction and sneered.

"Hello, Granger," He said, smirking.

It had begun.

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The campsite was gorgeous. It was situated on the side of a lake, surrounded by a continuous forest of evergreen trees. Right by the lake were several rows of cabins, a sizeable mess hall, and a large cleared area which appeared to be a field.

Greg and Joyce were checking the cabins one last time to make sure they were ready for the group of students arriving that morning. The couple were previous Hogwarts students, who had eventually decided that the wizarding world was not for them. Instead, they started up a camp program designed for all students, magical or non-magical.

They called it Camp Kindle.

Camp Kindle had been running for several years. Greg and Joyce had catered for almost every type of student imaginable, but because they had an unlimited amount of tolerance and patience, they had always pulled through.

Little did they know, they had never held a camp like the one facing them now. If they did, perhaps they wouldn't have been beaming like they were as they waited for the students to arrive.

If they had known, they would have turned them away.

But they didn't know, they couldn't have known, and so they smiled as they waited obliviously for the end of everything they knew.

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**A/N**: (mysterious music plays) 

Bet you didn't see that coming, hey? Mwahahaha. I love cliffhangers! I'm very evil, I know.

Well, I always had more planned for this story than just an average romance plot line.

Tell me, do you think I should change the summary slightly? I hate doing summarys, because they're SO important. A good summary attracts lots of people but a bad summary can turn people right away, and writing one always stresses me out! Did you think it was okay?

If anyone is reading this story but not reviewing, then PLEASE DO! Reviews can be so helpful, even if they're not very long. It always inspires me to write more when I know that people are enjoying what I do, and any criticism can help me improve.

**Next Chapter**: Will be longer than this one. They actually DO arrive on camp, and Malfoy makes his first move (I'll let you interpret that how you will! lol.)

Bye for now!


	3. Claiming the Victory

**School Camp – _fire-and-ice89_**

**A/N**: Sorry about the other chapter being so short, but I wanted to end it with the cliffhanger. This one is much longer. I hope it will sustain you for the next six days, because I'm going away on holidays and I won't have the internet. Yep, that means I won't be able to post until Sunday. Sorry! I'll make sure I write the next chapter while I'm away, though, so I can post it as soon as I'm back.

Replies to reviews:

**shadows31**: The teachers that I selected to go on camp have nothing to do with the heads of houses, though now I realize it might be confusing with Snape and McGonagall coming along. Professor Trelawney might seem completely random right now, but she has her place, as do the other two teachers. Nothing I do is without reason! Well, most things I do anyway…

**Filthy x Gorgeous**: Thanks, as always, for the compliment!

**ecc3ntr1c**: Hey, I like the name! The whole camp idea hit me out of the blue one day, and I thought it was pretty original. I checked on the website, and realized that there's actually a few other stories about summer camp, drama camp, etc., but not many stories about school camp, so I went ahead with the idea!

**Mocha Dragon**: hahaha, I'm replying to your review, how weird is this? Thankyou thankyou thankyou for all the huge long reviews and feedback, it was so helpful! Sorry I didn't send this chapter to you before posting it, but as you know I am going away tomorrow and wanted to make sure it was posted before I left.

**Taurus Girl**: As I said, I love cliffhangers and I enjoy making people wait in suspense! Thanks for reviewing again!

**dmhg**: Yay, you found a new word to use!

**Comedy gal**: A new reviewer, hey? I'm glad you like the writing and I hope you keep reading!

Okay, at this stage I just want to shout out a few names of people who are loyal reviewers. I'll do the same for "A Second Chance". I just want to thank these people for coming back and reviewing every new chapter:

**dmhg  
****Taurus Girl  
****Mocha Dragon  
****Filthy x Gorgeous**

Thank you all so much!

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**Last Time**: 

_Little did they know, they had never held a camp like the one facing them now. If they did, perhaps they wouldn't have been beaming like they were as they waited for the students to arrive._

_If they had known, they would have turned them away._

_But they didn't know, they couldn't have known, and so they smiled as they waited obliviously for the end of everything they knew._

**Chapter Three – Claiming the Victory**

The portkey travel was rough, as always, though not as bad as traveling through the floo network.

Harry managed to land squarely on both feet, and smiled proudly for a second, before realizing that most people had done the same thing effortlessly, like they did it in their sleep.

He turned to see Allie standing, already chatting with a few friends.

_Of course she wouldn't fall, she's not clumsy like you_.

Harry shook his head to clear the negative thoughts, and turned to look for Hermione and Ron.

He saw a disgruntled looking Hermione standing with her arms folded across her chest. He shook his head in sympathy, glancing quickly at the sour face of Snape and the insufferable smirk on Malfoy's.

He wouldn't trade places with her for the world.

Ron still looked tired, and also wasn't talking to anyone. Suddenly, almost as though he felt Harry's gaze upon him, he looked up and the two shared a smile.

Eventually the students realized that there were two people standing before them, with broad smiles across their faces. The chatter died down, and they waited for the two to speak.

"Welcome to Camp Kindle!" The man boomed joyfully. "My name is Greg, and this is my fiancé Joyce. We're both old Hogwarts students, are we're _very _happy to welcome you here!"

Joyce smiled and gave the students a small wave. She reminded Harry a bit of Molly Weasley with her frizzy red hair. She looked very motherly.

Greg continued. "You'll be staying in cabins for three nights, and doing your solo campout for one night. We have twenty cabins, ten for the girls and ten for the boys. You have about 120 students, I've been told. So, if you do the math, you'll know that there's six to a cabin."

There was murmurs and secret eye signals between the girls in the grade as they all tried to sort out their cabin groups on the spot. The guys stood around passively, knowing that everything would sort itself out.

Greg waited patiently for the girls to settle down. When everyone was quiet, he spread his arms. "That's all I've got to say for now. You have half an hour to sort out your groups, and settle in to your cabins. The girl's cabins are on the left side of the mess hall, and the boy's cabins are on the right. There's only one rule regarding the cabins: no boys in the girl's cabins, and no girls in the boy's cabins. Simple as that, okay?"

The students all nodded. It wasn't any different than they expected. Greg nodded. "Okay, In half an hour, I want everyone gathered back here for the first activity. Off you go!"

Harry walked over to where Ron was standing. Dean, Seamus and Justin had already gathered around.

"We need one more person," said Ron, looking around.

Harry looked too. Standing by himself, he saw Neville clutching a large yellow duffel bag that looked like it probably belonged to his gran.

"Neville!" Harry called out sympathetically, waving his arm. "Come in our group!"

Neville's eyes lit up, and he trotted eagerly over to the five.

"Thanks, Harry," he said, smiling broadly. Harry shrugged, slightly embarrassed by his obvious gratitude.

"No problem."

The six headed towards where the boy's cabins where, and once again Harry felt a thrill of excitement for the days to come. Momentarily, he had forgotten all about Allie.

Camp was for having fun, and he didn't want anything to spoil that.

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As soon as Greg dismissed them, Hermione began to look for a group. There were some disadvantages to having guys as best friends. They _were_ only friends, but when it came down to girls and guys sharing a cabin, there were no exceptions.

"Hermione, over here!" She heard someone called out, and smiled with relief to see Lavender waving her over.

Lavender, Parvati, Padma, Fiona and Allie were standing in a huddle. Hermione pulled her bag up to them.

"Thanks, guys." She said, and the girls shrugged. Hermione knew that if they'd had a sixth friend, they wouldn't have asked her, but she was glad to be in a good group anyway, and didn't care.

She eyed Allie with interest, wondering if she could use this situation to her advantage…or rather, Harry's advantage. Perhaps she could drop a few hints.

"Let's get our stuff to a cabin," Parvati said, and the girls all hoisted their bags onto their shoulders.

"I guess they're all the same inside," Fiona said, surveying the cabins. "How about that one?"

She pointed to one on the very end, furthest from the mess hall. It was almost inside the forest. Hermione looked at the dark, looming forest behind and shivered a little bit, before telling herself to stop being ridiculous.

"Why so far away?" She asked brightly, and the girls gave her a strange look.

"Well, so we can sneak out, of course," Lavender said, giving her a wink. "We're less likely to be caught if we're on the end."

Hermione felt a sinking feeling in the bottom of her stomach. She just wasn't _made_ for these sorts of things that other girls seemed to get such a thrill from. She just saw no fun in sneaking out to see guys in the middle of the night. Of course, that was what she assumed Lavender meant they were doing. Where else was there to go in the middle of a forest?

With a repressed sigh, she picked up her duffel bag and followed the girls into the cabin.

Inside it was warm and cosy. There were bunk beds on three of the four walls, keeping with the tradition of camp etiquette. Lavender, Parvati, and Padma instantly began squealing and ran for the top bunks.

Fiona, Allie, and Hermione looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"Don't hurt yourself fighting over them," called out Allie, laughing. "There's only three of you want them."

Lavender pouted at Allie. "You spoiled my fun! I was looking forward to a good bitch fight."

Hermione smiled to herself and placed her bag on the bed below Parvati's.

"How much time have we got, guys?" She asked the girls. She hadn't brought a watch on camp.

"Twenty five minutes," called down Padma from her high perch.

"Cool. What should we do?" Fiona heaved her bag onto the bed below Lavender's.

"Well, we can't go and talk to the boys, because we're not allowed to," Parvati said, pulling a face. "Why don't we just stay here and talk?"

Allie went and sat on Fiona's bed, next to Fiona. Hermione shifted uncomfortably on hers. She felt slightly left out from this group of girls, but what else could she expect? She wasn't good friends with them or anything, and she should just be glad that they'd accepted her into their group temporarily.

Still, it was hard to feel grateful as the girls started chatting, and Hermione found herself the listener.

Once again, she wished that camp would hurry up and finish.

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"Time's up," said Neville suddenly. The boys all stopped talking in surprise.

"Is it really?" Ron asked. "That went quickly."

Neville looked uncertain, but nodded anyway. Ron looked at him carefully, and glanced quickly at Harry. Both of them knew that Neville felt left out, but what could they do about it? He just never said anything much, as hard as they tried to draw him into the conversation.

"Come on," said Harry. "We should go." The boys all picked themselves up from the floor and went outside.

Greg and Joyce were waiting for them in front of the mess hall. Gradually all the students trickled out from their cabins, and came to join the growing crowd.

When everyone had gathered. Joyce stepped forward with a box in her hands.

"The first activity you'll be doing is orienteering," she announced. "Now, unless you come from a muggle family, I don't suppose many of you will know how to orienteer. When you have a wand, all you need to know is the words to a spell, right?" She chuckled, and some of the students smiled weakly at her.

"Well, the muggle way isn't quite as simple." She put the box down and pulled out a compass.

Malfoy was standing right in front of Hermione. She saw him lean over and whisper something to Blaise, that sounded suspiciously like, "The 'muggle way' never is."

Blaise snickered, earning him a sharp look from Professor McGonagall.

Joyce smiled indulgently. Students will have their fun, she thought to herself, holding up the compass for everyone to see.

It was greeted with many blank looks.

"Recognise this? No, I thought most of you wouldn't. Well, here's a quick lesson on how to use a compass."

Hermione watched, but only half-heartedly. She'd been camping once, with her cousin's family. Her uncle was an outdoors fanatic, and as a result she'd returned home full of knowledge about the muggle ways of survival, a compass being one of those.

"Wow," Ron whispered to Harry, watching the demonstration. "The things those muggles think of. I mean, using magnetic fields to find their direction, that's just amazing!"

"Watch it," said Harry jokingly. "You're starting to sound like your dad."

Ron looked horrified and quickly shut up.

When all the students had a basic understanding of how to use the compasses, they were instructed to separate into their groups.

Greg and Joyce surveyed the three groups and had a few words among each other.

"All right," announced Joyce, "Greg will be accompanying Group A, and I will be accompanying Group B. Group A, you are going to be navigating through the woods behind the boy's cabins, Group B will be behind the girl's cabins and Group C will be behind the mess hall. Your teachers will give you instructions once you gather there."

All the students began walking to where they were told. Hermione breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Obviously Joyce and Greg had decided that McGonagall looked like the most informed teacher there, and trusted her alone with her group. Thankfully, that meant Snape wasn't going to be solely in charge of her group.

Once all of Group B had trickled over to the trees, Joyce began speaking.

"Now, I want you all to separate into pairs." Hermione looked around for a partner. Fiona was glancing in Parvati's direction, but Dean had already claimed Parvati. With a shrug, she turned to Hermione.

"I'll go with you," she mouthed in her direction. Hermione nodded, and turned back to Joyce.

"You and your partner will get a compass to share," she continued, handing them around. Hermione took one from the box offered and held it loosely in her hands.

"Now, on this sheet of paper I am about to give you, there is a bearing. Each partner receives a different bearing. You and your partner must find the bearing on your compass, and begin to walk in that direction. If you go in the right direction, you will find a flag that contains the next bearing. Follow that one, and you will find another flag. The second flag contains the final bearing, that will lead you to the finish line. First pair finished gets a prize!"

It didn't sound very hard. Fiona came and stood beside Hermione, having taken a sheet of paper from Joyce.

"135°." She read aloud from the paper. "Do you know how to work that thing, because I wasn't really listening before?"

Hermione nodded, already twisting the compass around so that the needle pointed north, and then found 135°.

"That way," she said, pointing into the woods. Fiona smiled.

"I'll trust you," she said. "I have no idea about this stuff."

Snape was hovering in the background, watching the students. Joyce walked over to him and spoke a few quiet words. He nodded, then turned and walked into the forest. Hermione gazed curiously after him.

"One more thing," said Joyce quickly, before the students left. "When you find a flag, you have to take it down, just to prove that you followed your path. To win, you have to bring the two flags with you. Now, are you ready?" Joyce asked the groups. "Go!"

Hermione and Fiona jogged into the woods. Students headed in all directions.

It was much cooler under the shelter of the trees. Hermione felt goosebumps rising on her arms, and shivered.

"Are we still going in the right direction?" Fiona asked. Hermione checked the compass again, and changed direction slightly.

"Wait, can you see something?" Fiona called, pointing ahead. About 100 metres away there was a blue flag waving from the trunk of a tree.

"Yes, let's go!" The girls jogged towards to tree where the flag was. It was taped to the bark, and the bearing, "80°" was written in large letters, with a black permanent marker.

As Fiona pulled down the flag, Hermione adjusted the compass to find the new direction. As they walked, they occasionally caught glimpses of other students searching for the flags. Once, Hermione saw Malfoy and George fighting as they walked along, and she smiled to herself. Malfoy had none of his loyal supporters in his camp group, and it was proving a problem for him.

Hermione and Fiona found the next flag without much trouble. With excitement, they turned in the direction of the finish line.

The two girls broke into a jog, stopping occasionally to check their direction.

After about five minutes they saw the finish line. It was a long strip of red tape strung between two trees. Behind the tape was standing Snape, and Hermione realized finally realized that Joyce had sent him to wait there for the students. Probably to get him out of her way, she thought with a smirk.

At the same time that they saw all this, the two girls heard a shout.

Looking to the left, they saw Malfoy and George break into a run, heading for the finish line.

"Quick," yelled Hermione, and the two girls started sprinting.

The two pairs hurtled towards the finish line. It wasn't just a game. Hermione knew that she _had_ to beat Malfoy on this one, and she was certain he was thinking the same thing.

Malfoy and George were faster runners, but Hermione and Fiona had an advantage. They had been closer to the finish line when the race began, and crossed it mere seconds before George and Malfoy.

Breathing hard, Hermione grinned triumphantly. She returned Fiona's high five and smirked at Malfoy, who was glaring at her.

Joyce appeared through the trees. She walked over to the finish line, smiling.

"Well, plenty of red faces here. Who won?"

"We did," said Hermione and Malfoy in unison.

"No, we did." Hermione said, shocked. Was Malfoy actually going to stoop to this level?

"It was us, fair and square," Fiona agreed. Malfoy sneered.

"I don't think so." He said.

George looked uncomfortable, and didn't say anything. He was a Ravenclaw, with his own group of friends. Much as he didn't like Malfoy, he owed nothing to Fiona and Hermione, and didn't want to take sides on this.

Joyce was confused. Both groups clutched their brightly coloured flags in their hands, so no one had cheated. Who was lying? "Professor Snape?" She appealed, turning to the man lurking quietly in the background. "Did you see who won?"

Snape hesitated, but only for a moment. "Draco and George."

Hermione snorted with disgust. Why would she expect any better from Snape? Of course he would back up his precious Drakie-poo. It was what he did.

The word of a teacher was good enough for Joyce. "Ok, good!" She smiled broadly again.

"What's our prize?" George asked tentatively.

Joyce winked at him. "You'll find out when everyone gets here."

Parvati and Dean emerged from the trees, and the focus shifted to them.

Hermione stood still, fists clenched, seething.

As far as she was concerned, Malfoy had just declared war.

* * *

**A/N**: How could Malfoy do that! Oh, right, because he's Malfoy. 

I'm sorry, but you might not see any fluff between those two for a while. Malfoy is a bad boy, Hermione is a good girl, and I think it would (literally) take a huge event to thrust the two together. And, as you can perhaps tell from the cliffhanger in my last chapter, that's exactly what I plan for this story!

My author note at the beginning of the story was pretty long, so I'll stop boring you now and let you get on with reviewing! (hopefully…)

**Next Chapter**: We stalk Harry and Ron for a bit and leave poor Hermione alone.


	4. Clay Pots and Roses

**School Camp – fire-and-ice89**

**A/N**: Well, one good thing about being stuck in the mountains with no internet and nowhere to go is that you get lots of writing done. I got a much better grip on where I want to take this story, and wrote out a plan for the next few chapters. It feels so much better when you know where you're going!

Unfortunately, I started school a few days ago. I first posted a story in the beginning of holidays, which is mainly why I've been so quick updating: I've had so much time on my hands. From now on, the going might be a little bit slower. Don't give up on me though! If I don't update for a ridiculously long time, say, a month or something, someone just send me some hate mail and I'll get the next chapter up ASAP.

For now though, just be glad you have this next chapter! This one focuses a lot more on Harry and Allie. I personally really like these two as a couple, I think they're pretty cute. I know it will never happen in the real books, since it would be very unlikely that JK introduces a girl called Allie as Harry's love interest, but hey, that's what fanfiction's for: writing everything that she doesn't.

Replies to reviews (I got ten which is the most I've ever gotten for a chapter, so I'm going to reply to everyone's because I love you all so much!):

**Mocha Dragon**: Don't be suspicious of Allie! sniffs How could you? Though I _do_ understand why you would be suspicious of everything and everyone, after that nice little cliffy in chapter two, let me assure you, you're wasting your time with Allie. Who should you be suspicious of? Well, that would be telling, wouldn't it!

**Filthy X Gorgeous**: Oops, I hope I didn't make everyone think the prize would be a big thing…it's really not. You'll see. Hahaha true I'd let Malfoy get away with anything.

**Jewel Blossom**: Snorting with disgust…has a certain ring, doesn't it? Don't worry, Hermione gets her own back next chapter.

**Sun Kissed Rose**: I know, I read some of the other camp fics and they were boring, hey? I'm glad you think this one isn't…

**dmhg**: Thanks for your long review, it was gr8! Avril Lavigne started all that, didn't she, with S8er Boi? I just got a nice little email telling me that you've updated, so I'll go and leave a review when I've posted this!

**PaRtYGiRL089**: Yes, number 89 _does_ rule! So does 14. They've both been pretty lucky for me.

**elektrikstorm**: The line about Ron turning into his father was a spur of the moment thing, I was typing and it seemed to fit so I put it in. I've based whole stories around spur of the moment ideas. I work better when I don't plan everything!

**xoKaSsIeox**: I also have a friend called Fiona! The Fiona in my fic is loosely based on her, actually. I also have a girl called Ali at my school, but the Allie in my fic has _nothing_ to do with her!

**comedy gal**: I can tell you right now that the first day of camp will end in chapter six. There's not going to be six chapters for every day, though. I can't give you an estimation, because it probably won't be accurate, but it's going to be much longer than A Second Chance (my other fic). Blaise Zabini was only mentioned extremely briefly in the books, and it didn't even say if he was a boy or a girl, but JK has since confirmed that he is, in fact, a boy. You weren't the only person missing something, though. I had no idea who he was until I read all these fanfics with him, or sometimes her, in them.

**cheesedogtoda-core**: Yay, you came back! I think you reviewed my first chapter of School Camp, but I wasn't sure if you'd come back again. Thanks for the review!

* * *

**Last Time**: 

_Joyce was confused. Both groups clutched their brightly coloured flags in their hands, so no one had cheated. Who was lying? "Professor Snape?" She appealed, turning to the man lurking quietly in the background. "Did you see who won?"_

_Snape hesitated, but only for a moment. "Draco and George."_

_Hermione snorted with disgust. Why would she expect any better from Snape? Of course he would back up his precious Drakie-poo. It was what he did._

_The word of a teacher was good enough for Joyce. "Ok, good!" She smiled broadly again._

"_What's our prize?" George asked tentatively._

_Joyce winked at him. "You'll find out when everyone gets here."_

_Parvati and Dean emerged from the trees, and the focus shifted to them._

_Hermione stood still, fists clenched, seething._

_As far as she was concerned, Malfoy had just declared war._

**Chapter Four – Clay Pots and Roses**

Harry jumped up the few front steps and opened the door of his cabin. No one else was inside. He quickly shrugged off his jacket and walked over to his bed to put it away.

"Hey mate," he heard a voice say from the door, "Come on, we'll be late for lunch."

He turned to face Ron, who was grinning widely at him from the door.

"What's put you in such a good mood?" Harry asked, joining him out the front. He closed the door behind him and the two headed towards the mess hall.

"Oh, nothing." Ron said with fake modesty. "Except that I won the orienteering race! Who's the man, huh? Who's the man?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "It wasn't that big a deal, Ron. The winners only got a freddo frog each."

Ron frowned. "Yeah, what was _with_ that? I mean, what's the point in a chocolate frog if it doesn't move?"

The two had reached the mess hall. Ron opened the door and went inside, still chatting about the orienteering exercise. Harry stepped after him, and went to the back of the lunch line.

Inside the mess hall were rows of wooden picnic-style tables. They were similar to the ones in the Great Hall, except that they only seated eight people.

Hermione was already sitting at a table by herself. Harry tried to catch her eye and wave, but she was staring sour faced down at her food.

The food didn't look very good, Harry thought, eyeing people's plates suspiciously, but he suspected that Hermione's bad mood was affected by something more than spam on bread for lunch.

He was about to mention something to Ron about Hermione when he smelt a familiar scent of roses, and froze.

Without turning around, he knew that Allie was standing behind him.

No, he wasn't psychic. He'd just been standing right behind her when the orienteering exercise was being explained to his group, and therefore knew that she was wearing rose scented perfume.

Desperately, he tried to clear his mind.

Should he talk to her? If he did, what could he say?

He could congratulate her for winning the orienteering race! Okay, he had some conversation. Now he just needed the guts to turn around and say something.

"Harry!" Ron called, and Harry realized that the line had moved on and he was standing there like an idiot. He covered the few metres between him and Ron, and took a plate from the bench, chagrined.

_Great. Now she probably thinks you're a total loser._

He kept his eyes downcast, shuffling his feet when the line moved. A piece of bread from that tray. A slice of meat from there. Finally, at the end of the line, there was a massive jug full of watered down cordial. Harry poured himself a cup.

When he looked up, he realized that Ron was waiting for him, looking highly amused.

"What?" Harry enquired with a red face. Ron burst out laughing.

"Oh man, you're acting so weird and you don't even realize it." He gave Harry a meaningful look, and then walked over to the table where Hermione was sitting.

Harry's brain froze again. Did Ron know about Allie?

He didn't know why he objected so much to Ron knowing. It was just…Allie was _so_ out of his league, and he was ashamed to admit he had ever wanted her. Still did want her.

He picked up the cup of cordial and balanced his plate with the other hand.

"Harry?" He heard a hesitant voice ask, and his poor brain, which was just beginning to clear, froze again. Allie was speaking to him. He knew instinctively it was her; the sound of her voice was imprinted on his mind.

"Allie," he said, turning around quickly to face her.

Unfortunately, he didn't have his cup as well balanced as he thought he did. It slipped right from his hand and rolled away under the table, splashing watery yellow cordial all over the floor.

Thankfully, both he and Allie had jumped out of the way. He would have _died_ if he'd spilled cordial all over Allie Reed.

She got down on her knees and reached under the table for the cup. It was only plastic, so it didn't break.

"Here,' she said, handing it to him with a strange look.

"Um, thanks," Harry muttered, refilling it from the jug. "Hey, um, Allie," he said quickly, before he lost his nerve.

She looked at him expectantly. "Yeah?"

"Um, good work. You know, winning the orienteering thing."

Allie laughed, and Harry frowned in confusion. Had he said something wrong?

"Thanks, Harry," she said. "You did well, too." She walked away visibly trying to repress her laughter.

Harry took his plate and cup and went to join Ron and Hermione. Girls were _so _confusing. He didn't think he'd said anything funny…

Hermione and Ron were sitting in silence eating. Harry caught Ron's eye as he sat down opposite his two friends, and Ron shrugged.

"Hermione," ventured Harry. "Did something happen with Malfoy?"

Hermione sighed heavily. "Of course, no surprises there. He's just…such an insufferable _git_. And Snape too. The both of them are out to get me." She shook her head when she saw Harry open his mouth again.

"I don't really feel like talking about it. How are you guys finding your groups?" She glanced meaningfully at Harry, who blushed immediately.

Ron spoke up. "Mine's pretty good. I went with Neville for the orienteering exercise. I had to do all the work, but we still came first, so it didn't matter. Trelawney's actually not that bad as a camp teacher. Kind of amusing, if you're not Harry. You know, the whole reason she came on camp was to get more 'clued in with nature,' or something weird like that. I'm telling you, that woman has a problem."

Harry was only half listening to Ron's chatter, still thinking about his encounter with Allie. He was always so clumsy around her.

"How was _your_ group, Harry?" Hermione asked pointedly, when Ron wound up his recount.

"Good. I went with Tom, and we came second to Allie and Padma."

"Hmm," said Hermione. "I saw you speaking to her just then. Allie, that is. You didn't spill any of that drink on her, did you?"

Harry shook his head, flaming. Did the whole mess hall see that slip up?

Hermione grinned and reached across the table, patting his hand. "Don't worry. She was smiling when she left you. It can't have been that bad."

Ron was looking from one to the other suspiciously. "Look, from where I'm standing, it sounds like Harry actually likes Allie, but you would have told me if you did, right mate?" he appealed to his friend.

Harry shook his head. "Sorry, Ron, Hermione figured it out all by herself, and I was going to tell you…"

He trailed off, trying to gauge Ron's reaction. He really hoped that his friend wouldn't be too angry at being left out.

Ron considered. He had a right to be angry, but really, it was camp and he didn't want to be fighting with his best friend.

"No worries." He said. "I'm not angry. Besides, you'll probably need my expert help to get her attention, so we can't be in a fight right now."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Your ego is _way_ too big. Since when are you an expert?" She turned to Harry. "Anything Ron says to you, do the opposite, okay?"

"Hey," Ron protested, pretending to be hurt, but it didn't last and he broke into a smile.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Once more, there were no secrets among them.

The three ate their lunch quickly. Something about camp had made them hungry. Hermione eventually told them the details of her encounter with Malfoy, and it left Harry and Ron steaming with anger.

"We'll help you get him back, don't worry." Ron said, glaring over at the back of Malfoy's head. "I just wish we were in the same group, then we could all fight back together."

Hermione shrugged. Her anger had worn off slightly. "At least he doesn't have any friends in his group either, so it's kind of just me against him. And besides, you should have seen the look on his face when Joyce handed out the freddo frogs. A whole lot of effort for nothing, as far as he was concerned."

Since Ron had thought the exact same thing, he opened his mouth to defend his cause, but Hermione cut in. "I know, she built up the whole prize thing, so the freddo frogs were kind of disappointing, but I'm glad. I would have been doubly annoyed if Malfoy claimed _my _victory and it was a great prize."

At that moment Greg stood up from the teacher's table and raised his hand.

Everyone stared at him, dumbfounded. Lavender giggled, and whispered loudly, "It's like he's in school and wants to ask a question!"

Greg heard her, and lowered his hand with a smile. "Okay, I can see that none of you know what that means. Well, that's a little method of mine that I use when I want everyone to be quiet. I'll raise my hand, and I want everyone to stop talking and raise theirs when they see me do that, okay?"

Hermione looked across the table at Harry, and the two repressed a snort of laughter.

"Sounds like it's right down your field of expertise, Hermione," Ron whispered beside her, and received a well deserved slap from his friend.

At the front of the hall, Greg raised his hand again. Begrudgingly, the students throughout the room all raised theirs.

"Good!" Greg beamed at them all.

"These people are just too weird for me," Ron muttered softly.

"Now, this afternoon we've got two activities for you. We're going to set up this mess hall for arts and crafts, which one group will do at a time. The other two groups will be out on the field, playing touch football. We'll rotate the groups every 45 minutes, so everyone will get a go at both activities. So, group A and B, when you're finished your lunch could you please head out to the field. Group C, you'll be starting in here. Thank you, I hope you all enjoyed your lunch."

Harry looked down at his half-finished spam on bread. "Not likely," he said with a grin. "Well, I'm finished. Hmm, arts and crafts, doesn't sound very interesting. At least I get it over with first up." He stood up, holding his plate and cup. "I guess I'll see you guys later then."

Group C was gathering at the front of the hall. Harry hovered towards the back, waiting for instructions. Allie was standing at the front with Padma, chatting about something. She glanced up at him, smiled briefly, then kept talking.

Harry sincerely hoped that their conversation wasn't about him.

Joyce came to the front where the group was gathered. Snape, McGonagall and Trelawney had all disappeared somewhere. They probably got the afternoon off, Harry thought jealously.

The girls were all gazing with interest around at the tables. One table had some mats, and a large brick of clay. Another one had paper and some paints in the middle. The last table had glue and an assortment of wood.

Most boys were eyeing the woodwork table. It was the most 'manly' activity available, by far.

Joyce watched their reactions, then began to talk.

"There are three different activities to do. You can choose which table you want to work at. You can move around if you get bored with any activity. As you can see, there's clay, painting, and woodwork. Okay, go and choose a table!"

Most of the guys headed straight for the woodwork table, and the seats filled up immediately. Several hopeful guys tried to squeeze in around the edges, but Joyce ousted them.

"If a table is full, don't worry, I'll rotate people so you will still get a turn!"

Harry was too slow. He looked at his two choices, the painting table or the clay table.

Allie was sitting down at the clay table. She looked up and caught his eye. With a small smile, she patted the bench beside her.

_Was she really…? She couldn't be…_

Allie Reed had just invited him to sit next to her.

Moving slowly, like he was in a dream, Harry went and took his place. The smell of roses was drifting through the air, mixed now with the earthy smell of clay.

The noise level rose as students began to experiment, laughing and talking.

Allie reached out to the large brick of clay, and sliced off a section. She then sliced it in half and gave one part to Harry. He accepted it silently, and subconsciously began kneading it with his hands.

"What are you doing?" Allie asked curiously.

"Oh, uh, well, you need to knead the clay. Actually, that sounds confusing, doesn't it? Uh, to make the clay soft, you knead it. With your fingers. Like this."

Allie watched his hands expertly kneading the clay, and began to copy him.

Padma was sitting on the other side of Allie. "Urgh, Allie, this is _so_ gross. It's getting under my fingernails and everything. I'm going to the painting table instead."

"Wimp," Allie called after her friend, then rolled her eyes at Harry. "She's such a girl. So, have you done clay work before? I mean, you seem so professional."

"Uh, yeah, at my primary school. We used to make clay pots in art. It was all we did one year. Our teacher was so much fun, she let us do whatever we wanted to. Most students chose to do clay all the time."

"Oh, well I wish I hadn't asked you to sit here," Allie said, frowning down at her lumpy piece of clay. "You're probably going to whip up something all pro-like, and meanwhile I can't even knead this stupid thing."

"Oh, it's easy, really," Harry felt himself loosening up. Allie was so easy to talk to. "I'll show you how to make a coil pot, if you want. They're pretty easy to do."

"Okay, thanks," Allie said, looking up at him and smiling.

He held her gaze for a second, then looked abruptly down at his clay. "I think it's kneaded," he said, and broke off a small piece. "Now, you have to roll a small piece of clay, like this. Roll it until it makes a sausage shape. It has to be pretty long. Then you coil it around itself, and keep coiling, until you have a little coil mat. That will be your base."

Allie copied what he did. Harry let himself forget about his nervousness, and took her through the steps.

He couldn't believe it. _She liked it._ She liked the fact that he could teach her about something that might not be considered 'manly'. Something that not many guys could do.

Maybe she wasn't so out of his league, after all.

Half an hour later, Allie sat back and admired her handiwork. "It's so cute!" She exclaimed, running her fingers over the surface.

Harry was making his third pot.

"Oh, yours are so good," she said, pretending to pout. "Mine's kind of lopsided."

"You'd be good if you practiced," commented Harry, inspecting her pot. "That's pretty good for a first try."

"You're just saying that," Allie said, looking from her pot to Harry's.

"No, I'm actually not," Harry said honestly. "You're so critical. It's only your first try, be easy on yourself."

Allie smiled ruefully. "It's one of my greatest faults. I'm such a perfectionist."

"Really? So's Hermione. Except I get the feeling you're not as obsessive as she is," Harry said hastily, in case she didn't like being compared to Hermione. Not everyone would take it as a compliment.

Allie laughed, but then suddenly became thoughtful. "You know, I never really got to know Hermione. Because I'm in Ravenclaw, and she's in Gryffindor, we never had many classes together. Then whenever I _did_ have classes with her, you and Ron were always in them too, and the three of you never seemed to need anyone else."

Harry shrugged, uncomfortable. "I used to think we didn't. But then there was a time…" he paused, wondering whether to say his thought.

"Go on," Allie said earnestly. "You three have always been such a mystery. I go to the same school as you, but I hardly ever see you. The information I hear about you is mainly from The Daily Prophet, and they always print such rubbish."

"Well, there was a time in fourth year. Do you remember when Krum asked Hermione to the Yule Ball?" He asked Allie, and she nodded but didn't say anything. "Well, at that point I suddenly realized: we're going to grow older. We'll want to have relationships, get married, have families. I thought we'd only ever need each other, but I guess I was wrong. They're the best friends I've ever had, but one day I'll need more than that."

Allie was gazing at him despondently. "That's _so_ sad."

Harry shrugged. "I've kind of accepted it. It's the way things are."

Allie looked like she was about to ask a question, but then shook her head slightly and began to wrap up her pot instead.

"What?" Harry asked. "You were going to say something."

Allie hesitated. "Hermione's a girl."

Harry was confused. "Um, yeah. I kind of noticed."

Allie blushed. "Well, it's just that…you're saying you would never have a relationship with her?"

Harry chuckled. "As much as I love Hermione, she drives me absolutely crazy sometimes. Well, a lot of the time. I could never live with her permanently, or we'd probably kill each other. Same with her and Ron."

"Oh," Allie said. "I think I see."

At that moment Joyce clapped her hands. Everyone looked over at her.

"45 minutes is up, people! Bring your works of art over here. I'll keep them safe while you're out on the field. Please don't leave the tables in a mess, the other group needs to come in and use them now."

Allie went and got a wet cloth to wipe down their part of the table with. Harry picked up the pots he made, and Allie's pot, and took them over to Joyce. When he came back to the table, Allie had gone to talk to Padma again.

Their little encounter was over. Harry couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever talk to her for that long again.

He wandered over to the door, and opened it.

"Have fun playing touch football, everyone!" Joyce yelled out over the chatter, and Harry slipped outside.

Ron's group was heading towards the mess hall. When Ron saw Harry, he ran up to his friend.

"Hey mate, do you know what touch footy is?" Ron asked Harry. He sounded kind of rushed.

Harry shook his head. "I think it's a muggle game of some sort, but I never played sports when I went to primary school."

"Yeah, me neither." Ron said distractedly. "You know what normal football's like though, don't you? Very barbaric, a whole bunch of people trying to kill each other, basically?"

Harry nodded. Uncle Vernon and Dudley used to watch it on tv together, but they'd never let Harry join them. Not that he was interested, anyway.

"Well, touch football is just like that, except instead of trying to tackle people, you're just supposed to tag them."

Harry was confused. "Ron, I'm sure they'll explain the rules to us when we get out on the field."

"No, let me finish." Ron insisted. "You see, Malfoy's not playing by the rules. He's on the opposite team to Hermione, and every time she gets the ball, and even sometimes when she doesn't have it, he'll run up and full on tackle her. Greg's tried to stop him, but he really has no idea how to control Malfoy. I just wanted to warn you…keep an eye on her, okay?"

Ron suddenly realized that the rest of his group had disappeared inside the hall, and slipped inside the door. Harry turned and walked slowly out towards the field.

He wished he could stop Malfoy, he really did. But he seemed to have it in for Hermione, and Harry couldn't do much when he wasn't in Hermione's group. He couldn't help her out when he wasn't there.

He could see a large group of people spread out on the field. He could tell they were about to begin playing, and started jogging towards them.

When he was about halfway there, he heard a scream.

* * *

**A/N**: Who screamed? Well, that should be pretty obvious. But why? Well, that should be obvious too. But what will happen next? Hah! That's something only I know! 

**Next Chapter**: Neville makes a confession, and Hermione gets her first taste of revenge.

Please leave a review!


	5. Hermione Strikes Back

**School Camp – fire-and-ice89**

**A/N: **I think that's the longest I've ever made you guys wait for a chapter, but hopefully, this chapter is worth the wait. A lot more contact between Draco and Hermione!

For anyone who doesn't usually read my author notes, please do! I know that some people don't, because they ask questions in their reviews, and if they'd just read the author notes they wouldn't have had to! Also, it might be helpful to scan over the replies to reviews, because sometimes there's some helpful stuff in there as well.

Replies to reviews:

**Mocha Dragon**: You're just suspicious of everyone! Poor Neville, can you picture him doing anything bad? Thought not! As you'll see in this chapter, Neville's confession is DEFINITELY nothing anyone should be concerned about!

**paris97**: American? I'm Australian, and I've never even been to America! Touch football the way I was writing it was Australian. Okay, just for you I added a very British word in here, or at least, I think it's British. See if you can spot it. Another thing: I understand that being a Draco/Hermione shipper, you probably don't want to hear about other characters, but I think it creates a better balance in the story.

**Filthy X Gorgeous**: LOL! I can't think of anyone who _wouldn't _mind being tackled by Draco!

**jods-luvs-draco**: Thanks for adding me to your favourite authors! Luv the name ;)

**dmhg**: Actually, I don't think you ever did! Hahaha, thanks!

**JewelBlossom**: Who screamed? I hope it didn't bother you too much since I took a while to update, but now you get to find out!

**Taurus Girl**: So you know who screamed, eh? (ahhhhh, I'm turning Canadian!). Well, in this chapter you get to find out how and why!

**Flair Verona**: You seem to have a knack for being the first reviewer of a chapter, don't you! Sorry for the wait.

**The Black Pearl is Freedom**: Let me guess…you like Pirates of the Caribbean? Me too! It's my favourite movie. I'm glad you liked the chapter.

* * *

**Last Time**:

_He wished he could stop Malfoy, he really did. But he seemed to have it in for Hermione, and Harry couldn't do much when he wasn't in Hermione's group. He couldn't help her out when he wasn't there._

_He could see a large group of people spread out on the field. He could tell they were about to begin playing, and started jogging towards them._

_When he was about halfway there, he heard a scream._

**Chapter Five – Hermione Strikes Back**

Hermione was at her wit's end.

When she'd first heard about the afternoon's activities, she'd been glad. For two thirds of the time, she'd have either Harry or Ron there to protect her, and she doubted that Malfoy would try anything around them.

But she'd been wrong.

The whole point of Touch Football was to tag people. Not tackle – tag. But Malfoy couldn't seem to get that through his thick skull, and every single time someone passed Hermione the ball, Malfoy lunged at her, pushing her to the ground.

People eventually learned and stopped passing her the ball, but even then Malfoy would sometimes trip her or push her, claiming that he thought she'd had the ball.

She was sick of it. Ron hadn't been much help, and Greg had no idea how to control Malfoy. In fact, Hermione suspected that Greg thought Malfoy _liked_ her, and that tackling her was his guy way of showing it.

Fat chance.

She looked up with relief to see Harry's group straggling out from the mess hall. Harry would provide better protection than Ron.

She saw him stop and talk with Ron for a minute, then continue to the field. Most people had arrived, and were already spreading out to play. Girls against boys. She took a few steps towards Harry, when she felt a familiar foot sneak in just as she stepped forward.

The oldest trick in the book.

Hermione stumbled over, and fell forward onto the ground. She put out her hands to save herself, and scraped them raw on the hard dirt surface.

It was the last straw.

"Malfoy!" She shrieked up at the smirking blond haired boy. "I am _so _sick of you. Why can't you just leave me alone? I'm _trying_ to have fun, and you're just trying to spoil it for me. I _hate _you."

"Oh, I'm so hurt." Malfoy said with mock hurt, covering his heart with his hand.

With a scream of rage, Hermione leapt of the ground and lunged at him, but someone was holding her back. She struggled against them, but they had her in a firm hold.

"Calm down, Hermione, it's okay," She heard Harry say.

"Let me go, Harry," she said through clenched teeth.

Malfoy had retreated behind the gathering bunch of people. Hermione went limp in Harry's arms, and felt him slowly release her. She stood still, defeated. Everyone was gathered around watching her with wide eyes.

Greg jogged up to her, and inspected her hands.

"Ouch, they got a good grazing," he said, concerned. "Come with me, I'll get something to put on them."

Hermione sniffed. For some reason, she was on the verge of tears. Why did Malfoy always have this effect on her? Why did he have to be such an insufferable git?

Greg took her gently by the elbow and led her towards the mess hall. Harry patted her shoulder sympathetically as she passed, but she didn't look at him.

Her two friends had failed to protect her. She was going to have to do this alone.

Greg took her through the mess hall. "We've got a little nurse's room out through the kitchen, so I'm taking you through there," he said. Hermione understood, but she didn't really appreciate being stared at by all the people doing arts and crafts.

"It's all right," Greg said to everyone in general. "Just a little accident out on the field."

Ron was looking shocked. He was about to stand up and go with Hermione, but she gave him a death glare, and he stayed where he was.

Neville got up instead. He followed Greg and Hermione through the kitchen, into the nurse's room.

The room was very small. There was a single bed, and some benches along a wall. Greg sat Hermione down on the bed, and rummaged through a cabinet until he produced a small brown bottle.

"Betadine." He said with a smile. "Works miracles."

Hermione smiled back distractedly and held her hands out. She had just noticed Neville hovering in the doorway.

"You don't have to stay, Neville," she said as Greg dabbed some of the brown liquid onto her hands. "It's nothing major, really, and you're missing out on arts and crafts."

Neville shrugged, and came into the room. He sat down on the bed, right on the corner. "I'm not very good with arts and crafts, anyway," he said casually, then startled her with a blunt question. "Did Malfoy push you again?"

Hermione paused. "Yeah."

"I'm really sorry about that, Hermione," Greg said sincerely. "I didn't realize he was bothering you that much. I thought it was a sort of game between you two."

Hermione snorted with laughter. "Yeah right, a game. Like we've ever been friendly to each other." She saw Greg's slightly hurt expression, and changed her tone. "I'm sorry, Greg. You couldn't have known. We're arch enemies, something that's so well known around Hogwarts that I tend to forget that some people have no idea about us."

Greg nodded, finishing off her hands. "Well, I'll try and keep an eye out for you from now on, okay? Now, is it alright if I leave you here? I think I should get back out there and supervise everyone."

Hermione nodded. "Go. I'll be fine."

"Good. You just come out when you feel like it, okay?" Greg left, shutting the door to the room gently.

Hermione looked awkwardly over at Neville. He had a protective look in his eye.

"If he _ever_ bothers you again, just come and tell me, okay?"

It was very sweet, but Hermione had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing. Neville couldn't do anything against Malfoy.

"Thanks, Neville. I'll do that." She said.

The two sat in silence for the remainder of the activity.

0000000000000000000000

In the mess hall at dinner time, everyone was still talking about the incident on the football field. Tension was rising between Slytherins and Gryffindors, and it seemed as though the two houses were more separate than ever before.

The feud between Hermione and Malfoy was defeating the whole purpose of the camp.

Harry saved a table while Ron got dinner for the both of them. When he brought the plates to the table, he made a face down at them.

"Spam disguised as burger meat," he said with disgust. "Honestly, these people are really taking the cheap way out."

Harry accepted his plate with a grin. "That's why we brought the lollies, remember Ron?"

"Oh yeah," Ron said with enlightenment. "I'd almost forgotten about them."

"Harry, Ron, I need to talk to you."

The two looked up in surprise to see Neville approaching the table.

"What's up, Neville?" Harry asked. The other boy looked around, then sat down beside Harry. He was acting very strangely.

"Well, I went and talked to Hermione after Malfoy tripped her on the field." Neville said slowly.

"Oh," said Harry, "I would have gone but she seemed angry at me."

"Yeah, me too," said Ron through a mouthful of spam/burger. "I have no idea why, though. Girls, who understands them?"

"Was she okay?" Harry asked with concern. "I haven't seen her since then."

"Oh yeah, she's fine," Neville said casually. "She's coming to dinner, she just went to her cabin first to get changed. But what I meant to say was…" he paused, looking from Harry to Ron.

Both were extremely confused. "What did you want to say?" Harry asked, slightly impatiently.

"Ummm…well, what I wanted to say was…" Neville started speaking all in a rush. "Do you think I'd have a chance with Hermione?"

Harry and Ron stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Er…" said Harry.

"Um…" said Ron.

"Well?" asked Neville.

Harry and Ron were still speechless at this confession.

"Never mind. It was just a thought. Just me being stupid again. Don't worry about it. Oh, and by the way, could you not mention this to Hermione? Please?"

Neville started to get up from the bench, flustered and turning red very quickly.

"Wait, Neville," Harry said quickly. He could tell this meant a lot to the other boy. Neville paused, looking at Harry. His eyes were so full of hope that Harry couldn't stand to look straight at him.

"Perhaps," Harry started carefully, "perhaps you might. Hermione's very hard to predict sometimes, and she doesn't always say what she's thinking or feeling. She hasn't mentioned anything to us, but we don't know everything about her."

He looked desperately at Ron, who nodded wordlessly. Harry was doing a far better job than he could.

Neville looked thoughtful. "I know what you're saying," he said, "but do you yourself think that I'd have a chance with her?"

_Dammit,_ thought Harry desperately. _He's making this hard._

"Well…" he began, hoping that he'd think of something brilliant to say and bluff his way through the situation. "I…"

"Hey guys!" A bright voice chirped, and Hermione slid gracefully onto the seat beside Ron. "Hi Neville. Oh, I wanted to say thanks. You know, for coming with me to the nurse's room before. I really appreciated it."

"Well, I _would_ have come, except you gave me the evil eye as you came through the hall." Ron said defensively, receiving a playful slap from Hermione.

Neville got up from the bench. "Well, I just came to say hi to you guys. I should go get my dinner now." He hurried away. Hermione hardly seemed to notice his departure, as she was now examining her own spam/burger with disgust.

"Foul, isn't it?" Ron commented, looking over her shoulder.

"Absolutely," Hermione agreed, but took a large bite anyway.

Harry watched her carefully. She was in a very good mood, though he had no idea why. She seemed to have bounced back from the whole Malfoy incident very well. He wondered if Neville had something to do with it. Perhaps he _did_ have a chance with her after all.

"Hey, you'll never guess what Neville said to us just before," Ron started, grinning to himself.

"Ron." Harry said sharply. "Don't."

Ron looked over at Harry, confused. "It was funny."

"It wasn't." Harry said truthfully.

Hermione looked suspiciously from one to the other. "What happened? Tell me."

"We can't." Harry said abruptly. "If you're meant to find out, you will."

Hermione eyed him carefully. "Okay, but I hate not knowing."

"It's for the best," Harry assured her, looking past to where Neville was getting his dinner.

Crushes made things so much more complicated, Harry thought to himself. He himself had agonized so often over his chances with Allie, but he'd never had the guts to go and ask one of her friends if he had a chance with her.

Once again, Neville had proved himself a true Gryffindor.

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"Group B is on washing up duty," Joyce called to the students as they finished off their dinner. "Could everyone from group B please come over to the kitchen as soon as they're finished."

Hermione stood up. "That's me. I'll see you guys later."

She took her plate over to the bin and scraped the leftovers into it. Then she carried her plate into the kitchen, where most of the group had already gathered.

"Okay, I need a group of washers over there by the sinks, a group of dryers beside them, and some people over there to put everything away."

Hermione went over to the sinks, as a dish washer. Fiona came over beside her, and the two girls picked up a sponge each. There were piles of dirty dishes beside the sink. Hermione selected one from the top, and dunked it in the sudsy sink. She passed a dish across to Fiona, who did the same.

"I always wash." Hermione said to Fiona. "My hands are always cold, and on camp they're usually worse than normal, so washing the dishes in hot water always warms them up."

"Clever," Fiona said, smiling at her. "I just came here because you were here."

Hermione smiled back, feeling a sense of belonging.

But her smile dropped right off her face when she saw Malfoy stroll through the door. He surveyed the busy students with a smirk.

Joyce had left them alone momentarily, to go and speak with Greg. Unattended, Malfoy approached Hermione and Fiona.

Hermione tensed up, and scrubbed her dish viciously. She heard footsteps behind her, and then felt warm breath on the back of her neck.

She shivered, feeling goosebumps rise all down her arms.

"Leave me alone, Malfoy." She hissed gently. Fiona glanced sideways in surprise, then saw where Malfoy was, and understood. He was standing directly behind Hermione, leaning over so that his head was positioned right over her shoulder.

"Sod off, Malfoy," Fiona said bluntly. "No one wants you here. In fact, I'd be surprised if anyone wants you anywhere."

Hermione sighed with relief as Malfoy withdrew, and turned his attention to Fiona.

"Bitch," he muttered, and stalked off.

Fiona shook her head and continued scrubbing her dish. "He makes me so mad sometimes, the way he treats people. But _damn_, is he good looking."

Hermione giggled. "I wouldn't say so. One day the wind will change while he's scowling, and _then_ no one would think he's so hot. Oh, and make sure he doesn't hear you say that. His ego's blown up enough as it is."

Fiona wrinkled her nose and laughed with Hermione. Malfoy was standing on the opposite wall, watching the two darkly.

When Joyce returned, she tried to put Malfoy to work.

"Look," she said, pointing to the sink beside Hermione and Fiona. "There's a space there."

Malfoy looked her straight in the eye. "I'm allergic to dish washing detergent."

Hermione let out a loud snort. Joyce glanced over at her with interest, and she looked back down into the sink quickly, trying to appear busy.

Joyce looked back at Malfoy suspiciously. "I'll have to give you the benefit of the doubt for now, but I can check on your medical form, and if you _do_ have this…allergy, then it should say so there."

"Oh, my _medical_ form," said Malfoy breezily. "I might have forgotten to put that allergy on the list. I kind of have a lot of allergies, you see, so I tend to forget them sometimes."

Joyce frowned at him, and walked away.

_Good move_, Hermione thought to herself. _Don't pick a fight with Malfoy_.

Pleased with himself, the boy in question wandered back over in her direction. He stood beside her, watching her wash the dishes with a smirk on her face.

"Careful, Malfoy," Hermione snapped. "You wouldn't want to touch the nasty detergent now, would you?"

"I'm a Malfoy. We don't _do_ dishes." He leaned against the bench and stared at Hermione. She glanced sideways at him, and grabbed a dish from under his nose.

"Allergic to detergent?" She continued, scrubbing the sauce from the plate. "Allergic to _housework_, more like it."

"Housework is for house elves." Malfoy said with a derisive snort. "Notice how the name coincides? But of course. I forgot. Hermione Granger just _couldn't_ have a house elf doing all the work for her, could she?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You're a slave driver. I bet when you look at all the students right now, all you can see is little house elves, running around doing chores that _you_ should be doing."

"Save the speech, Granger. I'm not joining your little SPEW club."

Fiona looked over at Hermione. "SPEW? What's that?"

Hermione blushed, a deep crimson red. She'd never approached Fiona, Allie and their group to ask them to join. She knew they'd never consider it, and she didn't want to appear any more un-cool in their eyes than she already did.

Malfoy's eyes widened as he realized that he'd hit a sore spot.

"You don't know about SPEW?" He asked Fiona casually, and she shook her head slowly, eyeing him with distrust.

"You don't want to," Hermione said hurriedly. "It's just some stupid thing I did in fifth grade."

Malfoy smirked. He was going to have fun with this. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Fiona cut him off.

"Look, whatever SPEW is, I'm sure Hermione can tell me about it. I don't need your warped explanation."

Malfoy closed his mouth, flabbergasted, and Hermione grinned.

"Done," sang out Fiona, lifting her last plate out of the suds. Hermione finished off her last one as well, and handed it to Fiona, who put it on the pile.

"Come on, Hermione, let's go back to the cabin," Fiona said, taking Hermione's arm. Malfoy stepped in front of them, blocking their way.

"No one speaks to me like that," he hissed at Fiona, his voice dangerously soft. Fiona stared straight at him, saying nothing.

Hermione had a brilliant idea.

"Well, you know Malfoy, it's very hard to trust you sometimes. You're just…" She gazed upwards, pretending to search for the right word, "untrustworthy. With the whole allergy thing, for example. How are we supposed to know whether you're really allergic to detergent? We can't really take your word for it. Actually, you yourself probably have no idea, since I doubt you've ever touched detergent in your life. How about we find out for you?"

Malfoy was staring at Hermione like she'd suddenly grown two heads, but her meaning became all to clear when she reached behind her and grabbed the bottle of detergent.

"Granger," he warned, backing away.

Quick as a flash, Hermione whipped off the lid, leapt forward, and poured the entire bottle's contents over Malfoy's head.

"Fuck!" he yelled out, blindly reaching out and grabbing Hermione's wrist. The detergent was in his eyes. "Ow, it stings."

The detergent had made his hand slippery, and Hermione easily slipped her wrist from his grasp. Quickly, she and Fiona turned and slipped out the door.

Just before they ran into the dark of the night, Hermione turned back for a last look.

Malfoy was crouched on the floor, scrubbing at his eyes with his hands and yelling out with pain.

For a moment, Hermione felt a pang of regret.

_That was mean_.

But he deserved it, she reasoned, and felt a thrill of triumph when Fiona squeezed her arm and laughed.

Revenge was sweet.

* * *

**A/N**: Revenge! Finally!

I wasn't going to let Hermione sit around and be beaten up all the time. She's too smart for that! Of course, there will be major retaliation on Malfoy's part, but nothing Hogwart's smartest girl can't handle! From now on, the stakes will be more even.

**Next Chapter**: A little late-night girl talk reveals that Harry's 'subtle' attempts weren't so subtle after all, and Hermione has to fight in his favour. Another hot topic of the night is…Malfoy!

Please review!


	6. Girl Talk

**School Camp – _fire-and-ice89_**

**A/N**: I'm sooooooo sorry everyone! To be honest, I completely forgot that I had some stories that were long overdue for an update…it totally slipped my mind until this afternoon when my sister came up and begged me to post.

Wow, a record number of reviews! I'm guessing that people liked an image of Malfoy covered in detergent!

Replies to reviews:

**Flair Verona**: aww thanks I'm touched! Sorry for the wait.

**paris97**: I wasn't offended at all, so don't worry about all that! You always leave helpful yet encouraging reviews that I love reading, and I hope you keep coming back despite our bad start! Begin again? Good idea. I also love an independent Hermione, she can definitely look out for herself. I'm glad you found my summary intriguing, I always take a long time perfecting my summaries.

**jods-luvs-draco**: I love Neville too! I think he's so cute, but unfortunately he's bound to have his heart broken a few times in his life. He's just one of those unfortunate guys…

**Smiles 28**: haha thanks!

**bellgirl**: aww thanks! Sorry for the wait, hopefully you're still sane enough to appreciate the update (if that sounds a little strange to you then you probably didn't remember the exact wording of your review)!

**It. commander richie**: I have to ask, how exactly did your name come about? In reply to your review: LOL!

**dmhg**: hahaha mine also!

**xoKaSsIeox**: Thanks! Yep go 'Mione. Though you won't find me using that nickname in my fanfiction, at least not until I've seen JK use it...

**Filthy X Gorgeous**: hahaha slippery Malfoy…sorry this update took even longer than the last one!

**RadioactiveEyeShadow**: That's pretty cool that you had a detergent fight at your camp! Weird thing is, I've never actually done that myself since most of my camps have been in tents without washing up equipment, so we had no chance to have a detergent fight . I've always wanted to, though, which is why I wrote it into the story!

**PART-TIME-SINNER**: hahaha no one seems to be taking poor Neville seriously! Not that I expected them too. Unfortunately it's a hopeless crush. Thanks for the long review!

**dawn-miko**: Thanks for the review and the compliment!

**Mocha Dragon**: Spam spam spam spam spam spam spam spam…that at least was based on a school camp experience of my own. Spam for breakfast, spam for lunch, spam for tea. Thanks for picking out your favourite parts of the chapter, I love it when you do that!

* * *

**Last Time**:

_Just before they ran into the dark of the night, Hermione turned back for a last look._

_Malfoy was crouched on the floor, scrubbing at his eyes with his hands and yelling out with pain._

_For a moment, Hermione felt a pang of regret._

_That was mean._

_But he deserved it, she reasoned, and felt a thrill of triumph when Fiona squeezed her arm and laughed._

_Revenge was sweet._

**Chapter Six – Girl Talk**

The girls all looked up as Fiona and Hermione burst through the cabin door, laughing wildly.

"Um, okay." Parvati said slowly. "I didn't know that washing dishes was such an entertaining chore."

She, Padma, Lavender and Allie were all sprawled over Allie's bed, clutching their pillows. Fiona and Hermione had obviously interrupted a conversation.

"It wasn't the dishes." Fiona said, flopping down on top of Allie, who squealed in protest and tried to push her off. Hermione stood awkwardly by the door, wondering where to go. She settled for sitting on the edge of her own bed.

Rejected, Fiona came over and sat beside her.

"Hermione was so awesome," Fiona said, giving her a playful hug. "To cut a long story short, she tipped dish washing detergent all over Malfoy."

The four girls on the bed opposite laughed appreciatively.

"He had it coming," Padma commented, rolling over onto her back.

"He had it coming all along" Parvati began to sing dramatically, having just seen Chicago.

"Oh my god, he must have looked so cute with detergent all over his head," Lavender giggled, reaching up and touching her own hair briefly.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly, why does everyone think he's so good looking?"

"Because it's true, hon. Sorry." Parvati said in a matter of fact tone, but smiled at Hermione. "I'm just teasing you; we all know how much you hate him."

"Funny, though," Fiona commented thoughtfully.

"What?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Well, you hate him, and he hates you. We all know that. But to an outsider, it almost looks like he likes you. I mean, all that stuff he does to you, it's not really malicious. Not when you think about it. It's more just typical guy stuff."

Hermione was staring at her, astounded. "That's exactly what Greg said. That's why he didn't stop Malfoy when he was tackling me; because he thought it was playful guy-girl stuff."

"Weird," said Parvati, shaking her head. "I never would have thought of it, since I know about you guys, but now that you mention it…"

"Okay, stop." Hermione said hurriedly. "To Malfoy, I'm just a mudblood. That's all. He doesn't even see me as a person, just a thing to annoy for fun."

But the girls had started her thoughts running. She thought about the moment where she'd poured the detergent over his head, and he'd reached out and grabbed her wrist. She hadn't said anything, but it had been tingling ever since, right where he'd held her.

She tried to shake off the feeling. "So, what were you guys talking about before we came in?" She asked the group of girls.

"Oh, nothing," Allie said casually.

"It was _so_ not nothing." Parvati said with a laugh. "We were saying about how we think Harry likes Allie."

Fiona let out a short burst of laughter, then stopped suddenly. "Oh, sorry Hermione. If you want we could just not talk about it."

"Oh, I don't mind," Hermione said, "It's Harry you're talking about, not me. Besides, I'm interested. Why do you think he likes you?" She directed the last part at Allie.

Allie blushed. "I didn't say that! It was her," and she pointed an accusing finger at Padma, who shrugged.

"Well, I just assumed that. I mean, the way he was looking at you during arts and crafts, it seemed so obvious."

"Well, he doesn't." Allie said with finality. "And even if he did, I don't like him, so that's the end of the conversation."

Hermione was watching all this with a sinking feeling. Whenever she saw Harry and Allie together, they seemed so right for each other. They would make such a cute couple. But even if Allie did like him back, it looked like her friends were talking her out of it.

"I mean, come on," said Parvati, swinging her legs over the side the bed. "It's Harry. Remember how he treated me at the Yule ball?"

"That was because he liked Cho then," Hermione said defensively, then realized that it probably wasn't such a good idea to talk about Harry's crushes if she wanted to convince Allie that Harry liked her.

"But he's completely over her now," she added.

The girls were looking at her suspiciously.

"Has he mentioned anything to you about Allie?" Parvati asked Hermione curiously.

"Er…no. Of course not. As you said, this is Harry. He's a total mystery. No one knows what he's thinking or feeling."

Parvati rolled her eyes. "So true. He's so hot and cold. I couldn't believe it when he ditched me at the Yule Ball. Never get caught up in Harry Potter," she said to Allie. "The boy-who-lived is definitely a heartbreaker."

_Okay, that didn't go so well_, Hermione thought despairingly. _I'm really not cut out for this girl talk stuff._

"So, are we sneaking out to the guy's cabins tonight, or what?" Fiona asked, bouncing up from Hermione's bed. She had also sensed the tension in the conversation.

"No," Lavender said with a yawn. "It's been such a long day that we decided we can't be bothered. We were talking about it while you guys were washing the dishes. Tomorrow night, though, definitely."

Hermione inwardly sighed with relief. All she felt like was going to sleep, to banish thoughts of Malfoy holding her arm, Harry's doomed crush, and school camp in general to the far reaches of her mind.

"Lights out! Girls, turn the lights out," McGonagall's voice sounded from outside the door. Lavender made a face at Parvati, but got up and turned them off regardless.

"Thank you. Now, get some sleep!" The girls, still and listening, could hear McGonagall's receding footsteps, and her voice as she walked back along the row of cabins, telling off those misfortunate students who were slow to respond to her command.

"Ok, everyone, you're not a charity case, you have your own beds!" Lavender said, attempting to push Parvati, Padma, and Allie off her own. Slowly, the three girls climbed the ladders to their top bunks, and everyone settled down.

Hermione pulled the blankets up high around her neck, so the cold air couldn't seep in. She wished she had her wand so that she could cast a heating spell on the blankets, but of course, she didn't.

As soon as her head hit the pillow, she could feel sleep rolling in, and welcomed it with open arms. She couldn't ever remember feeling so glad to be encased in warm blankets.

She had survived her first day of camp.

* * *

**A/N**: Sorry for the short-ish chapter, everyone. I know that nothing much new happened, but it was kind of necessary to tie up all the events of the day.

So, a lot has happened over one day! Harry has had his first proper conversation with Allie, Allie has started to see him differently, Malfoy and Hermione are officially at war, but (SHOCK HORROR) everyone thinks they're flirting!

Whatever will the next day of camp bring?

Well, I want you to guess! In your review, if you can, try and guess an upcoming prank that Hermione or Malfoy will pull on each other, or any other theories you have on the story. If it's good I might even use it, since I don't have all the details of the story planned out yet!

Leave a review with your guess!


	7. Suspicion

**School Camp – _fire-and-ice89_**

**A/N**: Sorry this hasn't been updated for a while! You know how you get trouble chapters, and you're just not happy with anything you write, and you lose all inspiration? Well, this was my trouble chapter, but I'm back on track now. Sorry for the wait!

I got some nice long reviews for the last chapter

Replies to reviews:

**bellgirl**: hahaha! I loved the story idea! I never would have thought about the hickey thing! You should find a way to write it into one of your stories or something, coz that would be funny. Thanks for the compliment! Wow, you check for an update before you've checked your stats…but you know, you should add me to your author alert list. That way you get sent an email when I update and you don't have to check all the time!

**Lovmysr**: So you're a roosters fan? Lol. Hahaha you liked the detergent thing too…a lot of people seemed to!

**The Lady Luthien**: Thanks! I couldn't find any other stories about a school camp so I thought it was kind of original too, lol. Unfortunately this chapter doesn't have much romantic "action" so to speak, more like romantic "reflection".

**Stargirl1066lkl**: Another funny idea! About the mental health thing…well, this _is_ planned to be a DHr story…I'll come and visit you in the mental asylum, then?

**dmhg**: Thanks as always for the review…I feel terrible about leaving that review for "Last one standing." I always feel terrible after leaving a mean review. I hope there's no bad feelings…I've had a rough past few weeks and I seem to be taking it out on poor defenseless fanfiction authors…sorry!

**TaurusGirl**: Nothing wrong with being Canadian! Maybe I should just not get into country loyalties...fanfiction is so diverse that I'm offending people here! Lol don't worry I have nothing against Canadians.

**TriGemini**: Of course it won't go without retaliation! Draco would never let it go…in fact there will be a lot of retaliation to come from both sides…so hopefully plenty more laughs!

**Smiles28** and **JewelBlossom**: Thanks!

* * *

**Last Time**:

_Hermione pulled the blankets up high around her neck, so the cold air couldn't seep in. She wished she had her wand so that she could cast a heating spell on the blankets, but of course, she didn't._

_As soon as her head hit the pillow, she could feel sleep rolling in, and welcomed it with open arms. She couldn't ever remember feeling so glad to be encased in warm blankets._

_She had survived her first day of camp._

**Chapter Seven – Suspicion**

Hermione woke to the sound of Professor McGonagall's voice.

"Girls! Up now! You have half an hour to get dressed and into the mess hall. Breakfast starts at 7.00am sharp, and if you're not there, you get leftovers."

Lavender groaned. "I'm so tired! I don't want to get up."

Fiona rubbed her eyes, and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Come on, guys," she said, looking around for her clothing. "I don't want the leftovers, especially if the guys have gotten there first. Have you seen them eat? Remember, this isn't Hogwarts, the food doesn't replace itself magically."

"So true," Allie yawned. "But I don't care. I'm not hungry. I think I might just skip breakfast today."

Hermione was shocked. "It's camp! You'll need all the energy you can get, especially if today is as long as yesterday was."

"It will be," mumbled Parvati. "I overheard Joyce mentioning something to Greg about a mountain hike today…"

"Okay," Allie said reluctantly. "I guess I should come then."

All six girls dragged themselves reluctantly out of bed to face another day of camp.

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After Hermione had poured herself a bowl of cereal and milk, she looked around the mess hall. Harry and Ron were slumped over one on the far side, each looking extremely tired. She took a spoon and went to join them.

"What were you guys up to last night?" Hermione asked, sitting across the table from them.

"Mrghm." Ron mumbled into his arm.

"Sorry, Ron, didn't quite catch that," Hermione said with a grin.

"You're _way_ too cheerful for seven in the morning," Ron said, looking up at her briefly.

Hermione shrugged. "I got a good night sleep. The girls decided not to sneak out to your cabin. Though I have no idea why they'd want to in the first place – "

Ron reached across the table and slapped her half heartedly. Hermione pushed his limp hand away. "As I was saying," she continued, "we talked for a while, but we actually got to sleep. What about you?"

Neither boy said anything.

Hermione eyed them with mistrust. "Did _you_ guys sneak out of your cabin?"

"Oh, no." Harry said. It was the first time he'd spoken all morning. "We just talked for so long. We didn't realize what time it was."

"Interesting," Hermione said, raising an eyebrow. "The guys talked for longer than the girls did. I bet that's a first."

She suddenly realized that students all around the hall were falling silent. Looking around, she saw hands raised in the air. She looked back at Harry and Ron and rolled her eyes, before slowly raising hers.

"Thank you, everyone," Greg said from his position at head of the hall, beaming around at the begrudging students. "It's good to see you adapting to our rules so quickly. Now, our first activity for today is one that I'm sure you'll all have a lot of fun with: the mountain hike."

There was a collective groan resounding around the hall.

Greg grinned. "Don't worry, it's nothing too strenuous. And it's not really a mountain. We'll have lunch at the top, and stop to swim at a waterfall on the way down. For this activity, you _won't_ be separated into your groups. We'll all be going as a whole."

Hermione turned around to grin at Harry and Ron. Ron gave her a thumbs up. Surely Malfoy wouldn't try anything with Harry and Ron there? And besides, he'd have his own little friends to entertain himself with.

"Now, listen to my instructions very carefully." Greg said over the conversations that had sprung up. "When you've finished breakfast, you'll all go back to your cabins to clean your teeth, pack your swim suits, or do whatever else you need to. If you don't think you're wearing appropriate clothing for a hike, then that will be your chance to change. When you've done that, get your day pack and bring it with you to the hall. We'll have some bread rolls and salad set out for you to make sandwiches with. This will be your lunch on the hike."

Hermione was listening intently to all the instructions, and nodding occasionally. Ron was dozing, trusting someone else to tell him where to go and what to do. Harry was staring over at Allie's table, wondering what she was thinking now. He made a mental note to ask Hermione later if the girls had talked about him last night.

He didn't even realize they'd been dismissed until Hermione tapped him on the shoulder.

"Come on," she said with a gentle smile. "You too, Ron."

Together, the three left the hall to prepare for the hike.

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Within fifteen minutes, all students were gathered back in the mess hall. Hermione threaded her way through the throng to where Fiona and Parvati were standing.

"Hey, Hermione," Fiona said with a cheeky smile. "Have you seen Malfoy this morning?"

"No, actually," Hermione answered, gazing around.

"Exactly," Fiona said, gloating. "He probably looks like a mess after last night. I doubt that he was actually _allergic_ to detergent, but that stuff can still be pretty damaging. I'm sure it's not designed to be poured all over someone's head!"

Hermione smiled weakly. She was one of those people who felt guilty about getting revenge, no matter how hard or how long she'd wanted it.

"He's going to fight back, you know," she mentioned to Fiona, who shrugged, looking nonchalant.

"Not if we get to him first – oh, speaking of the devil."

Hermione looked around to see Malfoy skulking through the door. Fiona and Hermione watched silently as he walked towards Crabbe and Goyle. As he came closer, Hermione could see that apart from a pair of very bloodshot eyes, he looked fine. Fiona, however, wasn't going to let it pass.

She sauntered towards him, and reluctantly Hermione trailed behind her.

"Now Draco," Fiona said in a soft, understanding voice. "If you ever have any problems, you know that I'm here to listen."

Malfoy stared at her like she'd suddenly grown two heads. He looked suspiciously from Hermione to Fiona.

"What are _you_ smoking?" He asked incredulously, and tried to move past Fiona, but she blocked him.

"Oh, that's funny, you know," she said, a smile starting on her face. "Because I was about to ask you the same thing!"

Malfoy stared at her for a few moments before her joke sunk in, then abruptly turned away to hide his bloodshot eyes. Fiona smirked, then came back over to Hermione.

"Got him," she whispered with glee. Hermione smiled weakly again.

She hated Malfoy. She really did. But somehow, when _Fiona_ was the one playing tricks on him, it didn't feel the same. Hermione knew that she and Malfoy had a mutual enmity, and anything they did to each other wasn't taken exceedingly personally. But even though it wasn't her making those comments to Malfoy, she still felt mean…

"Hey, Fiona," she said cautiously. "I don't know how to say this, but…" in a rush, she spilled out her previous thoughts. Fiona frowned.

"If you say so, girl," she said, then playfully slapped Hermione on the shoulder to show that she didn't mind. "You're a strange one sometimes. But if you really want me to, I'll restrain myself."

"Thanks," Hermione said with a smile of relief.

"Okay everyone!" Joyce stood up on a bench so that the students could see her. "We've got salads, rolls, and cheese, so everyone start making their lunches!"

Hermione set her pack down on the ground and headed over to the sandwich making table. She picked up a sliced roll and carelessly chucked on some lettuce and cheese. She didn't normally have big lunches. She wrapped it up in the plastic wrap provided, then went back over to her pack and put it in.

Ready and waiting for the others, she picked up her pack. Frowning, she tested the weight by lifting it up and down. It seemed a lot heavier than before…

"Come on, Hermione," Parvati called. The girls were heading out of the hall, packs on their backs. With a shrug, Hermione lifted up her own and followed them.

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Harry looked up every other second while making his sandwich. Allie was down the table, lifting some limp pieces of tomato off the larger mound. She hesitated for a moment, and Harry could have sworn she felt his gaze on him, but she quickly resumed her task.

With a sigh, Harry did the same.

He thought he'd been making progress with her. But ever since this morning, she'd been ignoring him. He'd made a point of standing in line right behind her, but although she didn't have any of her friends with her, she didn't talk to him at all.

Hermione had always told him to be patient around girls.

"They're fickle." She had warned him. "Sometimes they change their minds. But most of the time, it's only temporary."

At this point, Harry had been totally lost.

"Listen," Hermione had insisted. "As soon as you think you're making progress, they start to pull away. It's because they're afraid of growing close to you. It makes it more real than just a little crush."

Harry supposed that it applied to this situation too. At least, he hoped it did, and that Allie hadn't changed her mind permanently.

The next time he looked up, she'd gone back over to her friends. He snapped his bread roll shut and shoved it into the plastic bag, rather more roughly than required.

"Is everyone ready?" Joyce called out, making the rounds. Most of the students nodded very unenthusiastically.

Harry glanced over at Malfoy quickly. He looked smug…like he was gloating, almost. Somehow, Harry didn't think that Malfoy was just an avid hiker.

Something was up.

* * *

**A/N**: Can you guess what it is?

Sorry this is a fairly non-eventful chapter…but I needed it for all the fore-shadowing. The next one will be more exciting.

Please review!


	8. The Mountain Hike

**School Camp – _fire-and-ice89_**

**A/N**: Hey everyone! Long time no see, I'm afraid. I was having a bit of a…breather, shall we call it. More info at the end of the chapter.

Well, there was lots of speculation over what was put in her backpack. Most of you said rocks or bricks or something along the lines of that…I don't think it was too much of a mystery. It's not the main focus of this chapter, don't worry!

Replies to reviews:

**TriGemini**: You are SO good at picking up on subtle little hints…things that I'm not even trying to write! I was considering putting some romantic tension between Fiona and Draco, just to make Hermione a tad jealous…and you picked up on it right away! I love the way you analyze the underlying hints in my writing!

**Dmwme09**: "What are you smoking?" Yes, an interesting line, I only learnt it once I came here, to Canada. I don't think I ever heard an Australian say it, which was why it was such a novelty and I felt like putting it in my fic!

**Tylerjay**: cool, thanks for reviewing again! Your second guess was that Malfoy stashed all his gear in Hermione's bag, which would have been funny, but I think he'd be a little worried about what would happen to it once she found it!

**Stephanie-Felton**: hahaha, crystal ball gazing…

**Mocha Dragon**: I think that Harry and Allie's developing romance will be one of the main parts of the plot, after Hermione and Draco of course ;). The thing is, sometimes Hermione's relationship with Draco can be so sour…sweet _and_ sour, I know, but sometimes the sour parts just get too much for me to handle, and when that happens, I can just switch over to Allie and Harry and have some cute-ness for a while!

**dmhg**: I'm glad you weren't offended! Thanks for asking, no I wasn't sick, but I was just really overloaded with school work and feeling really stressed out. It happens to everyone!

**Mystical Purple**: I can see why you would have misunderstood some of the things I wrote. If you come back and check this, here are the explanations.: yes, there are about 120 kids. Yes, there are three activity groups. But there are 40 kids in each activity group, not 6. The CABIN groups have 6 people in each of them. You also asked why the camp wasn't in the summer, where it would make more sense. Do I really need to answer that! It's called _school _camp for a reason. I don't know about you, but there's no way_ I'd_ give up my summer to go on some boot camp! As for who will be teaching the classes while Snape, McGonagall, and Trelawney are running around wild: I'm sure that Hogwarts, like every other school, will have substitute teachers that can stand in for them for a week. Hopefully I cleared up everything for you.

**40/16**: Wow, I used to love the Parent Trap, but I'd completely forgotten about it until you mentioned it! I'm trying really hard to remember what happened in it, but I can't…I know that the two girls were having a prank war, but I don't remember what they did…I hope I don't look like I'm copying it, if some of my pranks are the same! Maybe they sort of stuck in my memory and they're starting to come out now…

**mysticalpurple**: hahaha, thanks for coming and reviewing. I explained the numbers in my answer to your impersonator's review (lol). Sorry, I didn't realize it was confusing. Also, I realize that I could lower the rating for what I've written so far (minus the swearing), but I'm a bit worried about the ending that I have planned. But thanks for commenting and offering suggestions, I appreciate it!

Thanks to everyone else who reviewed, and I'm sorry I didn't get around and reply to you all, but I'm tired and I just want to post this chapter.

* * *

**Last Time:**

"_Is everyone ready?" Joyce called out, making the rounds. Most of the students nodded very unenthusiastically._

_Harry glanced over at Malfoy quickly. He looked smug…like he was gloating, almost. Somehow, Harry didn't think that Malfoy was just an avid hiker. _

_Something was up_.

**Chapter Eight – The Mountain Hike**

It was a hot day.

The sun was beating down on the large group scattered along the dusty brown track that winded slowly to the top. The side of the mountain was covered in fur trees, so it was not overly exposed, but the rays of light that filtered through the trees had already managed to burn Neville to a crisp, nonetheless.

They had already passed by the lake. To the sweaty, parched students, it looked like the most inviting sight in the world. But Joyce had hurried them all past, with the promise of a swim on the way back down.

"The view from the top is worth the walk," she kept repeating, urging the students on.

"Who cares about the bloody view," Malfoy had muttered to Blaise, who nodded in agreement, but they were forced to move anyway.

Joyce was at the head of the group, accompanied by Professer McGonagall, and Professer Trewlawney. She was pointing out various wildlife and plant species to the two professors.

Bringing up the rear was Greg, belting out walking tunes, and Professor Snape, looking like he'd rather be anywhere than where he was at that moment.

Hermione was walking with Harry and Ron, near the front. Every now and then she stopped, and shifted her pack.

"My shoulders are aching," she moaned eventually.

Harry had a moment of realization. "Hermione, take your pack off." He said suddenly. Hermione gave him a strange look, but obliged. Immediately Harry zipped it open and pulled aside her togs and towel.

"Ah hah." He said grimly.

"What?" Hermione asked frantically. "What's in there?"

"I don't suppose you packed these?" Harry asked her, pulling out a few handfuls of pebbles. Hermione gasped.

"I _knew_ something was wrong. It was so heavy…it was Malfoy."

"Of course it was." Ron said, eyeing the rocks over Harry's shoulder. "It doesn't take a genius. He was furious about the detergent thing…it got around camp and now everyone's ridiculing him."

"Lucky we found them now," Harry said gently. He pulled the rest out and threw them over the side of the track.

Hermione rubbed her sore shoulders in fury. "He could have _hurt_ me!" She cried in indignation. "He's probably already done some damage."

"It was wrong," Harry agreed calmly. "But there's nothing you can do. Don't let him see that it bothered you. That's what he _wants_."

Hermione gave a long sigh. "I just wish I could enjoy camp, _without_ having to watch my back all the time." She picked up her pack, now considerably lighter, and swung it back onto her back. "But you're right, Harry," she said as the three continued down the track. "I can't let him know that it's bothering me…"

Up at the head of the group, Joyce had stopped. She seemed to be showing people something.

When Harry, Ron and Hermione reached the top, she motioned them over, and pointed down at a little plant on the side of the track. Harry and Ron looked blankly at it, then back up at Joyce, but Hermione recognized it right away.

"This little fellow here is called a Stinging Nettle," Joyce informed them. "Be very careful not to touch it at all, because it _will_ hurt."

Harry and Ron bent down to closely examine the plant. It was green, with small heart shaped leaves that were spiked on the edges.

"It doesn't look that dangerous," Ron remarked. Joyce shook her head.

"It's not _dangerous_, exactly. It will just give you a nasty sting and a bumpy rash, that's all."

Joyce, the professors and the small clump of students moved on, leaving Harry and Ron to examine the plant. As soon as the group was out of sight, Hermione bent down beside the two boys.

She deftly pulled out a handkerchief and wrapped it around her hand. Quickly, looking around to make sure no one was watching, she uprooted the small plant and folded the corners of the handkerchief in. Then she took off her backpack and slipped it into the outside pocket.

When she looked up, Harry and Ron were staring at her in astonishment.

"What, you think I can let Malfoy get away with that rock prank?" She asked light heartedly. Ron snickered as he realized the general idea of what she was going to do with the plant.

"Hermione," Harry said uneasily, "I never thought I'd give you your own advice, but don't you think this is going too far? You should be the bigger person, and stop it here."

Hermione didn't want to listen. "Look, Harry, if he was doing this to _you_, you wouldn't be as calm. Please, just let me do this."

Harry hesitated, then shrugged. "I guess it's not for me to get involved in."

Hermione was very subdued as the trio began walking again. Harry almost hoped that she'd decided to give up her plan. But little did he know of the thoughts floating through her mind…

The trouble with Malfoy, Hermione thought to herself wryly, was that he wasn't very imaginative. The rocks-in-bag trick was very old, which was why Harry figured it out so quickly. She herself was very embarrassed that she hadn't realized earlier.

The plan forming in her mind was so unexpected. He would never see it coming.

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"It's beautiful," sighed Lavender.

"It's gorgeous," exclaimed Parvati.

"It's alright, I s'pose," muttered Ron gruffly.

The students were standing on the summit of the mountain. It had been a long walk – longer than Joyce had let on – but in the end it was definitely worth it. The view was spectacular.

Malfoy, Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle struggled up over the rock ledge.

"I'm hot," Goyle complained.

"I'm hungry," Crabbe moaned.

"Shut up, you two," Malfoy snapped.

Joyce threw him a look of surprise. "No, it's quite reasonable to feel hot and hungry," she assured the general body of students. Malfoy and his friends had been among the last to arrive. "It was a long walk, and you all did very well. You have about half an hour to eat your lunch now."

"Up here?" Padma asked eagerly, and Joyce nodded.

The group of girls went over and chose a rocky slab to sit on. Hermione, after a moment's hesitation, went and joined them. Out of her pack she pulled her wrapped bread roll, and took a bite.

"So, how did you ladies find the hike?"

Hermione knew without turning around that Malfoy was speaking. She looked sharply at Fiona, who had already opened her mouth for a come-back, but closed it sheepishly under Hermione's stare.

"We were just fine," Hermione replied sweetly. "We seemed to find it a lot easier than you, at any rate."

Padma and Parvati giggled.

Malfoy ignored the comment. He was on a mission. "So, you don't feel at all…_sore_, or _aching_…especially your shoulders. They must really be hurting now, hey Granger?"

Hermione knew what was going on, but by this stage the other girls were very confused.

"Not at all," she replied, just as sweetly as before. "In fact, I could do another ten of those hikes."

For good measure, she stood up and lifted her backpack with one hand, to let Malfoy know that there were obviously no rocks in there.

"I think I'll go and see how Harry and Ron are doing," she said briefly to the other girls before walking off, reveling in the furious look on Malfoy's face.

Harry, Ron and Neville were gathered on the edge of the steepest rock section. Neville was looking rather white, and seemed relieved to see Hermione. He stood up as soon as she came over.

"Hi, Hermione!" he said eagerly. She threw him a brief smile, then frowned in the direction of Harry and Ron.

"You guys should come away from the edge," she said. The words sounded bossy, even to her own ears.

"Yes, mother," Ron replied, rolling his eyes at Harry. Neither of the two boys moved an inch.

"You want to come away from the edge with me?" Neville asked Hermione nervously. "I don't like heights."

"Okay," Hermione said, smiling kindly at him. The two sat down on a patch of grass a few metres away from Harry and Ron. Hermione took out her breadroll again to eat, but Neville just sat and picked at the short blades of grass.

Hermione watched him idly. "Aren't you going to eat?"

"Not hungry." Neville said simply. "Hey, want to see something cool?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Okay."

Neville's fingers combed the grass with expertise, until they came across a blade longer than the rest. He pulled it gently at the base. When it came out, he placed it carefully between his two thumbs, and raised it to his mouth.

Hermione's mouth opened in amazement at the noise the little piece of grass made. It was shrill and loud.

He stopped and grinned at her reaction.

"That's kind of like those things that you can get at Hogsmeade, you know, the ones that make different noises when you put them in your mouth. But you didn't use magic for that, did you?" Hermione asked him.

"Nope," Neville said proudly. "You know…wizards like to think they have astounding imaginations. But they don't, not really. It's muggles who have the best imaginations, because they have to get by _without_ magic. In fact, almost all wizarding things are based in one way or another on a muggle invention."

It was the longest speech Hermione had ever heard him give. "I'm impressed," she said, smiling.

"Really?" Neville asked, beaming.

Now, Hermione wasn't thick, and she definitely wasn't clueless. But just that afternoon, perhaps because of the long hike, the brush with Malfoy, the recent discovery of the grass blade whistle, or a combination of all three, she somehow missed the way that Neville's eyes shone with a special light when he beheld her, and spoke to her.

She also missed a certain encounter between Harry and Allie.

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Harry was sick of waiting. It seemed that when it came to romance, it was all he ever did. His sharp eyes watched Allie as she moved away from her group of friends, steadily drifting over to the edge at the other side of the summit.

She was alone. Now was his chance, and he was going to seize it.

He stood up suddenly and walked over to her, without any explanation to Ron. She was sitting down on the rock, gazing out over the treetops. She almost looked like a queen, elevated on her throne. Harry swallowed, then climbed the rock to join her.

"Allie," he said, then promptly lost his nerve.

"Harry," she acknowledged, looking faintly flushed. From the hike or from him? Harry couldn't tell.

A long, awkward silence ensued, during which neither person had a clue as to what to say.

"Uh," Harry started, then stopped again.

Allie decided to take the initiative.

"Hey, us girls were just talking about tonight," she said quickly, "and we thought maybe we'd sneak over to your cabin. You know, we'd bring our lollies and combine them with yours, and have a little midnight feast, kinda thing…" she trailed off, watching to see Harry's reaction.

"That sounds…that sounds like fun," he said cautiously. Suddenly, a cold wind picked up, and Harry threw all his caution over the edge of the cliff, to be carried far away with the breeze.

"You know what would make it even more fun?" He asked Allie with a small smile.

Sensing that the mood had changed, Allie raised an eyebrow curiously. "What?" She asked, almost teasingly.

"Spin the bottle," he answered promptly. Allie burst into laughter and slapped his shoulder playfully.

"Oh. My. God. You're _such_ a typical guy." She said, but she was laughing still.

With all the tension between them evaporated into the fresh mountain air, Harry stood, then reached back down to help Allie up, and the two of them walked down the rock face together.

* * *

**A/N**: Obviously, Allie's friends couldn't say much to change her mind. She's attracted to Harry whether she wants to be or not! So don't you guys worry about that.

Now, I have something important to say: I know that when the sixth book comes out, there will be a TON of new fanfictions being produced, and I'm pretty sure that some of the old ones will be pushed aside. So this is what I'm wondering: will you guys (my reviewers) hang around for this story? Do you think it would be worth it, even if it becomes outdated? (eg. A character dies in the sixth book, and I've placed them somewhere in my story).

If not, I was thinking that I might take a break from this story, and maybe come back to it a little while later when the initial fuss over the sixth book has died down. I haven't been updating regularly anyway, and I'm sorry about that. But anyway, please just tell me what you think in your review.

Thanks guys!


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